치타
chita[t͡ɕʰitʰa̠]
The English word cheetah is 치타 (chita) in Korean.
치타 refers to the animal *Acinonyx jubatus (noun).
Meaning: Acinonyx jubatus (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
The term 치타 is consistent across both South Korea and North Korea.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is chita.
Did you know?
- The Korean word 치타 is a loanword from English, which in turn borrowed it from the Hindi word चीता for 'leopard' or 'panther'.
- The word 치타 is used identically in both South and North Korea, despite the two countries often diverging in their terminology for foreign loanwords.
- Because 치타 is a loanword, it does not follow the traditional Hanja (Chinese character) roots that many other Korean nouns use.
Examples in context
- 암튼 그 치타는 진짜 빨라!Anyway, that cheetah is really fast!
- 치타는 정말 빨라요.chita-neun jeongmal ppallayo.A cheetah is really fast.
- 그 동물의 이름은 치타예요.geu dongmul-ui ireum-eun chita-yeyo.The name of that animal is a cheetah.
- 동물원에서 치타를 봤어요.dongmulwon-eseo chita-reul bwass-eoyo.I saw a cheetah at the zoo.
Example conversation
Dohyun and Minji are looking at a picture book about animals.
- 도현 Do-hyeon민지 씨, 이 동물은 뭐예요?Minji ssi, i dongmureun mwoyeyo?Minji, what is this animal?
- 민지 Min-ji이건 치타예요.igeon chitayeyo.This is a cheetah.
- 도현 Do-hyeon와, 정말 멋지게 생겼네요.wa, jeongmal meotjige saenggyeotneyo.Wow, it looks really cool.
- 민지 Min-ji네, 세상에서 가장 빨라요.ne, sesang-eseo gajang ppallayo.Yes, it is the fastest in the world.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cheetah” translations and entries 치타, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 치타, CC BY-SA 4.0.
