HSK 3 · Nature

动物 dòngwù “animal” in Chinese

Traditional 動物

What 动物 means

  1. animal

How to say 动物

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale动dòng4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale物wù4th tone, falling

动物 in a sentence

  1. 我知道这种动物的名字。

    Wǒ zhīdao zhè zhǒng dòngwù de míngzi.

    I know the name of this animal.

    Sentence #673250 from Tatoeba

  2. 我买了一本关于动物的书。

    Wǒ mǎi le yì běn guānyú dòngwù de shū.

    I bought a book about animals.

    Sentence #9545088 from Tatoeba

  3. 马是种很有用的动物。

    Mǎ shì zhǒng hěn yǒuyòng de dòngwù.

    Horses are very useful animals.

    Sentence #346475 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 动物 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 动 (dòng) with each of its parts in a different colour
动dòngto move
  • 云cloud · yún
  • 力strength · lìMeaning part

Memory aidStrength 力 makes things move. In the full form 動, 重 (zhòng) gave the sound.

The character 物 (wù) with each of its parts in a different colour
物wùthing
  • 牛cow · niúMeaning part
  • 勿must not · wùSound part

牛 hints at the meaning (cow); 勿 (wù) hints at the sound. Compare it with wù.

Memory aidAn ox 牛, which the oldest Chinese dictionary calls the largest of things, with 勿 (wù) for the sound: a thing.

How to write 动物

动 6 strokes · 物 8 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

动物 (dòngwù) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 动物 (dòngwù). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 动物

Words with 动

动dòng · to move运动yùndòng · to exercise动物园dòngwùyuán · zoo运动员yùndòngyuán · athlete运动会yùndònghuì · sports meet活动huódòng · activity感动gǎndòng · to be moved激动jīdòng · excited动作dòngzuò · movement行动xíngdòng · to act

Words with 物

礼物lǐwù · gift动物园dòngwùyuán · zoo购物gòuwù · shopping植物zhíwù · plant宠物chǒngwù · house pet人物rénwù · figure食物shíwù · food物理wùlǐ · physics物质wùzhì · matter事物shìwù · thing

More words: Nature, Animals & Weather

草cǎo · grass刮风guāfēng · windy环境huánjìng · environment马mǎ · horse鸟niǎo · bird云yún · cloud植物zhíwù · plant自然zìrán · nature

In the Chinese zodiac

牛niú · Year of the Ox

物 has 牛 (ox) on the left.

FAQs

动物 (dòngwù) means “animal”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it dòngwù: dòng with a 4th tone, then wù with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 动物 is written 動物. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type dongwu with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 动物 from the suggestions. Typing dongwu into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
动物 is an HSK 3 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.