どうぶつ
dōbutsueveryday
The Japanese word for animals is どうぶつ (dōbutsu). Japanese does not mark plurals, so the same word means both "animal" and "animals".
どうぶつ (dōbutsu) covers land animals and is used in everyday talk. A zoo is called どうぶつえん (dōbutsuen), literally "animal garden".
Meaning: living creatures (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
To make it clear that there are many, Japanese adds words such as たくさん (takusan), meaning "a lot of".
Did you know?
- The kanji 動物 (dōbutsu) means "moving thing".
Examples in context
- どうぶつが好きです。dōbutsu ga suki desu.I like animals.
- どうぶつえんに行きます。dōbutsuen ni ikimasu.I am going to the zoo.
Example conversation
Sora and his Mother plan a weekend trip.
- Soraどうぶつえんに行きたい。dōbutsuen ni ikitai.I want to go to the zoo.
- Motherどうぶつが好きだね。dōbutsu ga suki da ne.You like animals, right?
- Soraうん、大好き！un, daisuki!Yes, I love them!
