水豚
shuǐtún
The English word capybara is translated into Chinese as 水豚 (shuǐtún). Wiktionary also lists 卡皮巴拉 (kǎpíbālā).
Meaning: Hydrochoerus (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 水豚 | shuǐtún |
| 卡皮巴拉 | kǎpíbālā |
The term refers to the rodent of the genus Hydrochoerus. While 水豚 is the standard term, the phonetic transliteration 卡皮巴拉 is often used in social media contexts to refer to the animal's 'chill' or 'zen' personality.
What does it mean word for word?
The standard term 水豚 literally means 'water pig'.
Which one should you use?
水豚 is the standard, formal biological name for the animal, whereas 卡皮巴拉 is a phonetic transliteration of 'capybara' used primarily in internet slang and memes.
How do you pronounce it?
shuǐtún
Did you know?
- On Chinese social media, the term 卡皮巴拉 has transitioned from a name for an animal to a personality descriptor for humans who are 'unbothered' by the world.
- The character 豚 in 水豚 is an ancient way to refer to a piglet, adding a slightly more classical or formal weight to the biological name than the colloquial term for pig.
- If you use the formal term 水豚 in a casual chat about cute animals, you might sound like a biology textbook rather than a person sharing a meme.
Examples in context
- 水豚非常温顺。Shuǐtún fēicháng wēnshùn.Capybaras are very gentle.
- 他在动物园里看水豚。Tā zài dòngwùyuán lǐ kàn shuǐtún.He is looking at capybaras in the zoo.
- 水豚喜欢在水里游泳。Shuǐtún xǐhuān zài shuǐ lǐ yóuyǒng.Capybaras like swimming in the water.
Example conversation
Two friends are watching a nature documentary on TV.
- 俊杰 Junjie你看，那只水豚在吃草。Nǐ kàn, nà zhǐ shuǐtún zài chī cǎo.Look, that capybara is eating grass.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen它看起来好可爱啊。Tā kàn qǐlái hǎo kě'ài a.It looks so cute.
- 俊杰 Junjie晓雯，我也想养一只水豚。Xiǎowén, wǒ yě xiǎng yǎng yī zhǐ shuǐtún.Xiaowen, I want to raise a capybara too.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen那可不太容易实现。Nà kě bù tài róngyì shíxiàn.That wouldn't be easy to achieve.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “capybara” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
