鸸鹋
érmiáo
The word for emu in Mandarin is 鸸鹋 (érmiáo).
鸸鹋 refers to the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae).
Meaning: Dromaius novaehollandiae (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is érmiáo.
Did you know?
- Both characters in 鸸鹋 are extremely rare in daily life, meaning most native speakers cannot write them from memory and rely on digital input.
- While 鸸鹋 is the formal name, you might encounter the word 鸵鸟 (tuóniǎo) in casual conversation. Although it technically means 'ostrich', many Chinese speakers use it as a generic term for any large, flightless bird including the emu.
- The word 鸸鹋 is rarely found in classic Chinese literature because the bird is native to Australia and was unknown to ancient Chinese scholars.
Examples in context
- 我在动物园看到一只鸸鹋。I saw an emu at the zoo.
- 这种鸸鹋很大。Zhè zhǒng emú hěn dà.This emu is very large.
- 我见过鸸鹋。Wǒ jiàn guò emú.I have seen an emu.
Example conversation
Haoran and Xiaowen are visiting a zoo.
- 浩然 Haoran晓雯，快来看这只鸸鹋！Xiǎowén, kuài lái kàn zhè zhī émi!Xiaowen, come quickly and look at this emu!
- 晓雯 Xiaowen它看起来跑得很快。Tā kàn qǐlái pǎo de hěn kuài.It looks like it runs very fast.
- 浩然 Haoran没错，鸸鹋是世界上最高大的鸟类之一。Méicuò, émi shì shìjiè shàng zuì gāodà de niǎolèi zhī yī.That's right, emus are among the tallest birds in the world.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen真的很有意思。Zhēnde hěn yǒu yìsi.That is really interesting.
