How to say “cat” in Chinese
cat
“Cat” in Chinese is 猫, māo: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
猫 is read māo. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 犭 “animal”; on the right, 苗 miáo hints at the sound.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “猫”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 猫. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我有一只猫wǒyǒuyìzhīmāoI have a cat.
- 你喜欢猫吗nǐxǐhuanmāomaDo you like cats?
- 你家有猫吗？nǐjiāyǒumāomaDo you have a cat at home?
- 我从小喜欢猫wǒcóngxiǎoxǐhuanmāoI’ve loved cats since I was little.
- 床上坐着一只猫。chuángshangzuòzheyìzhīmāoA cat is sitting on the bed.
- 这只小猫真可爱zhèzhīxiǎomāozhēnkě’àiWhat a cute kitten!
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Cat and dog”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “cat” in Chinese?
“Cat” in Chinese is 猫, pinyin māo.
What does 猫 mean?
猫 (māo) means “cat”.
How do you write 猫?
猫 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 猫?
猫 is read māo. Tones: māo — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“cat” in the lesson “Cat and dog”
This word is from the topic “Family and people” of HSK 1. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free