鬣蜥
lièxī
The English word 'iguana' is translated into Chinese as 鬣蜥 (lièxī).
鬣蜥 refers to any of the several members of the lizard family Iguanidae.
Meaning: any of several members of the lizard family Iguanidae (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
lièxī
Did you know?
- The first character 鬣 refers to the long hair on the neck of a horse or lion. This suggests that early Chinese translators saw the spiky crest of an iguana as resembling a mammal's mane.
- The character 蜥 is composed of the 'insect/reptile' radical 虫 and a phonetic component. In ancient Chinese, the radical 虫 covered a vast range of creatures including snakes, worms and lizards.
- The term 鬣蜥 is a loan translation, meaning it was created to map a Western biological category onto Chinese characters rather than arising from a native Chinese animal.
Examples in context
- 这只绿鬣蜥喜欢晒太阳。This Green Iguana enjoys sunbathing.
- 那只鬣蜥很大。Nà zhī lièxī hěn dà.That iguana is very big.
- 我喜欢这只鬣蜥。Wǒ xǐhuān zhè zhī lièxī.I like this iguana.
- 动物园里有一只鬣蜥。Dòngwùyuán lǐ yǒu yì zhī lièxī.There is an iguana in the zoo.
Example conversation
At a zoo looking at a reptile exhibit.
- 伟 Wei看，那只鬣蜥在睡觉。Kàn, nà zhī lièxī zài shuìjiào.Look, that iguana is sleeping.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen它看起来很安静。Tā kàn qǐlái hěn ānjìng.It looks very peaceful.
- 伟 Wei我想养一只鬣蜥。Wǒ xiǎng yǎng yì zhī lièxī.I want to raise an iguana.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen你得准备好大的笼子。Nǐ děi zhǔnbèi hǎo dà de lóngzi.You will need to prepare a large cage.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “iguana” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
