猎豹
lièbào
The English word "cheetah" is 猎豹 (lièbào) in Mandarin.
猎豹 is the standard noun used to refer to the animal *Acinonyx jubatus*.
Meaning: Acinonyx jubatus (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 猎 (liè), meaning "to hunt" and 豹 (bào), meaning "leopard".
How do you pronounce it?
lièbào
Did you know?
- The character 猎 meaning 'to hunt' contains a radical on the left that originally represented a 'dog' or 'hound', reflecting the ancient use of dogs in hunting.
- The character 豹 (bào) can also be used in Chinese idioms to describe someone who is fierce or exceptionally fast.
- In Mandarin, the word 豹 is used for both 'leopard' and 'panther'. To distinguish them, speakers add modifiers like 黑豹 for 'black panther'.
Examples in context
- 猎豹跑得非常快。Lièbào pǎo de fēicháng kuài.The cheetah runs very fast.
- 我们在动物园看到了猎豹。Wǒmen zài dòngwùyuán kàndào le lièbào.We saw a cheetah at the zoo.
- 猎豹是一种美丽的动物。Lièbào shì yī zhǒng měilì de dòngwù.A cheetah is a beautiful animal.
Example conversation
Two friends are watching a nature documentary on TV.
- 俊杰 Junjie你看，那是猎豹吗？Nǐ kàn, nà shì lièbào ma?Look, is that a cheetah?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen是的，它是猎豹。Shì de, tā shì lièbào.Yes, it is a cheetah.
- 俊杰 Junjie它的速度真惊人。Tā de sùdù zhēn jīngrén.Its speed is truly amazing.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen俊杰，它确实很快。Jùnjié, tā quèshí hěn kuài.Junjie, it really is fast.
