品种
pǐnzhǒng
The Chinese word for 'breed' is 品种 (pǐnzhǒng).
品种 is used to refer to the breed of animals, the variety of plants or specific strains of microorganisms.
Meaning: all animals or plants of the same species or subspecies (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is a compound of 品 (pǐn), meaning variety or grade and 种 (zhǒng), meaning kind or species.
How do you pronounce it?
pǐnzhǒng
Did you know?
- The character 品 in 品种 is a pictograph that originally depicted three bowls or containers, representing the act of evaluating or comparing different goods.
- In Chinese, the concept of 'breed' for pets is often conflated with 血统 (xuètǒng), which literally means 'blood lineage' and is used to emphasize purity.
- While 品种 describes the biological breed, the word 种 alone can be used as a slang term to describe someone's character or 'type' of person, often in a derogatory way.
Examples in context
- 狗的品种是什么?What is the breed of the dog?
- 马的种类有哪些?What are the types of horse breeds?
- 这只狗的品系是什么?What is the breed of this dog?
- 这只猫的品种是什么？What is the breed of this cat?
- 这种狗的品种很常见。Zhè zhǒng gǒu de pǐnzhǒng hěn chángjiàn.This dog breed is very common.
- 这个品种的玫瑰很香。Zhè ge pǐnzhǒng de méiguī hěn xiāng.This rose breed is very fragrant.
Example conversation
Junjie and Yuting are looking at dogs in a park.
- 俊杰 Junjie雨婷，你看那只狗好可爱！Yǔtíng, nǐ kàn nà zhī gǒu hǎo kě'ài!Yuting, look at that dog, it's so cute!
- 雨婷 Yuting我也觉得，它是哪个品种？Wǒ yě juéde, tā shì nǎge pǐnzhǒng?I think so too, what breed is it?
- 俊杰 Junjie我想它是个金毛。Wǒ xiǎng tā shì gè Jīnmáo.I think it's a Golden Retriever.
- 雨婷 Yuting金毛确实很温顺。Jīnmáo quèshí hěn wēnshùn.Golden Retrievers are indeed very gentle.
