动物园
dòngwùyuán
The English phrase "zoo" is 动物园 (dòngwùyuán) in Chinese.
动物园 is a noun used to refer to a park where live animals are exhibited.
Meaning: park where live animals are exhibited (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 动物 (dòngwù), meaning 'animal' and 园 (yuán), meaning 'garden' or 'park'.
How does it change in a sentence?
To say something is 'in the zoo', you add the locative particle 里 (lǐ) after the noun, resulting in 动物园里.
How do you pronounce it?
dòngwùyuán
Did you know?
- The word for 'animal', 动物, is a compound of 动 meaning 'move' and 物 meaning 'thing'.
- The character 园 in 动物园 is a 'radical' that represents an enclosure. In ancient times it referred to a walled garden for the nobility rather than a public park.
- When visiting a 动物园 in China, you will often see signs for 禁喂, meaning 'feeding forbidden', which is more strictly enforced than in many Western zoos.
Examples in context
- 你今天下午想不想去动物园？Would you like to go to the zoo this afternoon?This sentence is useful for suggesting an activity to someone for this afternoon.Tatoeba #529039 by GlossaMatik, translation #69413 by CK
- 你还记得我们还在小学时你和我一起去动物园那次吗？Do you remember the time you and I went to the zoo together when you and I were in elementary school?This sentence is useful for recalling a past shared memory from elementary school.Tatoeba #12221517 by GlossaMatik, translation #6913048 by CK
- 我去了动物园。I went to the zoo.This sentence is useful for stating that you went to the zoo.Tatoeba #8863241 by iiujik, translation #259713 by CK
- 我喜欢去动物园看动物。I like to go to the zoo to see animals.
- 今天我们去动物园玩好不好？How about we go to the zoo today?
- 13 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing their weekend plans.
- 梓涵 Zihan浩然，你想去动物园吗？Hàorán, nǐ xiǎng qù dòngwùyuán ma?Haoran, do you want to go to the zoo?
- 浩然 Haoran好啊，我也很想去。Hǎo a, wǒ yě hěn xiǎng qù.Sure, I want to go too.
- 梓涵 Zihan那我们明天下午见。Nà wǒmen míngtiān xiàwǔ jiàn.Then we will see each other tomorrow afternoon.
- 浩然 Haoran没问题，明天见。Méi wèntí, míngtiān jiàn.No problem, see you tomorrow.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
