16 Animal Sounds You’ll love to Know in Chinese – Animals Sound Different in Chinese

Do you know which animals make these sounds: Meow, woof and chirp?

Surely you know the answers. The animals are cats, dogs and birds.

What sounds do these animals make in Chinese?

Cats make 喵喵(miāo miāo)，dogs 汪汪(wāngwāng) and birds 叽叽(jī ji).

Do Animals Sound Different in Chinese

Sounds of animals are a form of onomatopoeia, the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named. “Meow, woof and chirp” are forms of onomatopoeia.

As you can see from the example above, cats sound similar in both English and Chinese. However,  dogs and birds do not. Why? First of all, English and Chinese are two different languages and certain pronunciations are therefore different. Secondly, people simply hear things differently.

Let’s listen to some animal sounds

Why is Knowing Chinese Animal Sounds Important

We don’t really talk about animal sounds everyday. But that does not make knowing them unimportant. Animal sounds, especially farm animal sounds,  are the first things babies in China learn when they start to speak. They are part of Chinese culture, knowing the animal sounds in Chinese therefore would make you feel and speak like a native Chinese.

Since the pronunciation of animal sounds is quite different, learning the animal sounds in Chinese can help practice your Chinese pronunciation. It would force you to listen differently just as a Chinese does.

16 Animal Sounds You’ll Love to Know in Chinese

猫 Cat – 喵喵 miāo miāo

狗 Dog – 汪汪 wāngwāng

鸟 Birds – 叽叽 jī ji

羊 Sheep | Goats – 咩咩 miē miē

牛 Cows | Bulls – 哞哞 mōu mōu

母鸡 Hens – 咯嗒,咯咯嗒 gē dā, gēgē dā

公鸡 Roosters – 喔喔 ō ō

小鸡 Chicken – 叽叽 jī ji

鸭子 Ducks – 嘎嘎 gāgā

青蛙 Frogs – 呱呱 guāguā

蜜蜂 Bees -嗡嗡 wēng wēng

驴 Donkeys – 嗯啊嗯啊 ń a ń a

老鼠 Rats | Mice – 吱吱 zhī zhī

老虎 Tigers – 嗷呜 áo wū

马 Horses – 嘶噪 sī zào

How about we make some sentences with the animal sounds in Chinese?

• 猫喵喵叫。
• 狗汪汪叫。
• 鸟叽叽叫。
• 羊咩咩叫。
• 牛哞哞叫。
• 母鸡咯嗒,咯咯嗒叫。
• 公鸡喔喔叫。
• 小鸡叽叽叫。
• 鸭子嘎嘎叫。
• 青蛙呱呱叫。
• 蜜蜂嗡嗡叫。
• 驴嗯啊嗯啊叫。
• 老鼠吱吱叫。
• 老虎嗷呜叫。
• 马嘶噪叫。

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Interested in learning the animal sounds with interactive worksheets? Check out Chinese Animal Sounds Flash Cards and Worksheets in our store.

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