Lesson 10. CHINESE ANIMALS. CAT AND DOG IN CHINESE LANGUAGE

In today's lesson my goal is not to teach you new vocabulary but to show the logic behind Chinese Characters. The people saw an animal and then they simply draw it. That's how the characters started to appear.

The word "animal" in Chinese can be expressed by several different characters depending on the context and usage. In general, the most commonly used word is 动物 (dòngwù). This word is also used in zoological and medical terms. The words 畜类 (chùlei) or 家畜 (jiāchù) are used to when we talk about domestic animals. When we talk about pets, the Chinese say 宠物 (chǒngwù).

Chinese people paid a big attention to their fauna. The animals were chosen as totems symbols for Chinese Calendars. The animals were used for Chinese martial art techniques. The animal prints were popular in clothes ornaments and decor.

Cat in Chinese

The cat called 猫 (māo), which in pronunciation is very similar to the meow of a cat.

If we divide this character into its components, it turns out that it includes three radicals: field, grass and beast (or monster). It turns out that a cat is a beast that protects the field from monsters. In China, cats have always been treated with noticeable respect for protecting crops from rats.

In addition, the pronunciation of the character for a cat in Chinese is similar to the character for "eighty", that is why cats are considered a symbol of longevity and are often depicted on postcards and birthday gifts.

Dog in Chinese

The most often Chinese character for dog is 狗 (gǒu).

In China, since ancient times, they have been breeding unique dog breeds - this is the Pekingese, which in the Celestial Empire is revered as a miniature copy of the "Buddhist lion" (it is believed that it brings happiness and harmony to the owner's life), and the Chow-Chow, and the pug, and the Shar Pei.

Source

And more recently, the Tibetan Mastiff has been recognized as one of the most expensive breeds, a representative of which was once sold for almost $ 2 million.

As you may notice both of this characters have 犭that you can see in many animal characters

Chinese	English
狼	wolf
猪	pig
狮	lion
犸	mammoth
狙	ape, monkey

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