Nature and Animal Words in Chinese

Before we get into the vocab, a fun fact: in Taiwan, if you see “yáng” on a restaurant menu, it usually means goat, not sheep. I’m not really a goat or lamb person myself, but there’s one dish I make an exception for: 羊肉串 (yángròuchuàn). It’s a snack from Xinjiang — bite-sized pieces of meat, nestled between little chunks of fat, coated in salt, a generous amount of cumin, and pepper powder, then grilled over charcoal. It’s incredible. If you ever get the chance to try it in Taiwan or China, do it.

Sky, ground, and everything between

Nature Words in Chinese

Putting it all together

Examples

最近zuìjìn的de空氣kōngqì很hěn髒zāng，你nǐ出門chūmén記得jìde要yào戴dài口罩kǒuzhào最近zuìjìn的de空气kōngqì很hěn脏zāng，你nǐ出门chūmén记得jìde要yào戴dài口罩kǒuzhào The air is very dirty lately, remember to wear a mask when you go out.

我wǒ喜歡xǐhuān躺tǎng在zài草地cǎodì上shàng看kàn星星xīngxīng我wǒ喜欢xǐhuan躺tǎng在zài草地cǎodì上shàng看kàn星星xīngxing I like to lie in the grass and look at the stars.

The animal kingdom

Animal Words in Chinese

A little extra

The Chinese Zodiac: 12 Animals, 12 Personalities

The Chinese zodiac (生肖, shēngxiào) is made up of 12 animals, cycling in this order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Tradition has it that whichever animal presides over your birth year shapes your personality.

Test yourself

Vocabulary Quiz