lǎoshǔ
animal, pinyin
The animal mouse in Chinese is lǎoshǔ in pinyin, written 老鼠 in characters. A computer mouse is shǔbiāo, written 鼠标.
Meaning: small rodent or computer device (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Note |
|---|---|
| lǎoshǔ | animal, pinyin |
| shǔbiāo | computer, pinyin |
What does it mean word for word?
shǔ is the root for rodents. In shǔbiāo it is joined with biāo, meaning "mark" or "cursor", so the computer mouse is literally a "mouse cursor".
Which one should you use?
The two meanings need different words in Chinese, so use lǎoshǔ for the animal and shǔbiāo for the device.
When do people say it?
The mouse is the first animal of the Chinese zodiac, called shǔ.
Did you know?
- The same character 鼠 is used for both mouse and rat in Chinese, and the zodiac animal is usually translated as "rat" in English.
Examples in context
- Wǒ jiā yǒu lǎoshǔ.There is a mouse in my house.
- Wǒ de shǔbiāo huài le.My mouse is broken.
- Tā shǔ shǔ.He was born in the year of the rat.
Example conversation
Fang asks the shop assistant for help in a computer store.
- FangQǐngwèn, nǐmen yǒu shǔbiāo ma?Excuse me, do you have a mouse?
- AssistantYǒu, zài nàbiān.Yes, over there.
- FangXièxie, wǒ yào zhè ge.Thanks, I will take this one.
