獅子 / 狮子
shīzi
Lion in Chinese is 獅子 / 狮子 (shīzi). If unsure, use 獅子 / 狮子.
Meaning: big cat Panthera leo (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 獅子 / 狮子 | shīzi | |
| 獅 / 狮 | sai / su / sir | Hokkien |
| 獅仔 / 狮仔 | sai-á | Hokkien, Xiamen |
獅子 / 狮子 is the everyday word for the lion, the big cat. The first spelling is traditional and the second simplified.
What does it mean word for word?
獅 or 狮 means lion and 子 is a common noun ending.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Hokkien the lion is 獅 / 狮 or 獅仔 / 狮仔, the second heard in Xiamen. In Dungan it is сызы.
How do you pronounce it?
It is pronounced shīzi, with a high level tone on the first syllable and a light second syllable.
When do people say it?
Lions are a familiar symbol in China even though they are not native there. Stone lions guard the gates of temples and palaces, and the lion dance is performed at the New Year.
Did you know?
- The word for lion may actually be a linguistic loan from ancient Iranian or Saka languages, rather than being purely Chinese in origin.
- While lions are not native to China, they were introduced as prestigious gifts to the Han court from as far away as the Indo-Parthian Kingdom.
Example sentences for Chinese are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “lion” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 獅, 獅子, CC BY-SA 4.0.
