Sea Animals & Sea Life in Chinese 海洋动物
hǎiyáng dòngwù
Sea animals in Chinese is 海洋动物 (hǎi yáng dòng wù).
Also searched for as: sea animals, ocean animals, fish, shark whale.
Who lives under the water? 15 essential sea life words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
The Chinese for sea life is 海洋动物 (hǎi yáng dòng wù), 'ocean animals', and many of the names are wonderfully literal once you break them down. A 海豚 (hǎi tún), dolphin, is a 'sea piglet', a 海星 (hǎi xīng), starfish, is a 'sea star', and a 水母 (shuǐ mǔ), jellyfish, is a 'water mother', which makes these words much easier to remember than they first look.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 海洋 | hǎi yáng | ocean |
| 鲨鱼 | shā yú | shark |
| 鲸鱼 | jīng yú | whale |
| 海豚 | hǎi tún | dolphin |
| 海龟 | hǎi guī | sea turtle |
| 章鱼 | zhāng yú | octopus |
| 水母 | shuǐ mǔ | jellyfish |
| 海星 | hǎi xīng | starfish |
| 企鹅 | qǐ é | penguin |
| 海豹 | hǎi bào | seal |
| 珊瑚 | shān hú | coral |
| 潜水 | qián shuǐ | to dive |
| 海底 | hǎi dǐ | seabed |
| 水族馆 | shuǐ zú guǎn | aquarium |
| 游 | yóu | to swim |
Usage tips
- 鱼 (yú) in a name doesn't mean the animal is a fish: 鲸鱼 (jīng yú) is a whale, 章鱼 (zhāng yú) an octopus and 鳄鱼 (è yú) a crocodile.
- Animals 游 (yóu), swim, and 游来游去 (yóu lái yóu qù) means swimming back and forth; for people the full word 游泳 (yóu yǒng) is more usual.
- Large aquariums in China are often called 海洋馆 (hǎi yáng guǎn) rather than 水族馆 (shuǐ zú guǎn), and snorkelling, as opposed to scuba diving, is 浮潜 (fú qián).
Common mistakes
- Using 个 for sea creatures, as in 一个鲨鱼 → use 条 for fish-shaped animals, 一条鲨鱼 (yī tiáo shā yú), and 只 for animals like penguins, 一只企鹅 (yī zhī qǐ é).
- Calling every seal-like animal a 海豹 → 海豹 (hǎi bào) is a seal, but a sea lion, the kind that performs in shows, is a 海狮 (hǎi shī).
Mini dialogue
- A周末我们带孩子去水族馆吧。Zhōu mò wǒ men dài hái zi qù shuǐ zú guǎn ba.Let's take the kids to the aquarium at the weekend.
- B好啊！他们最想看鲨鱼和企鹅。Hǎo a! Tā men zuì xiǎng kàn shā yú hé qǐ é.Good idea! They're desperate to see the sharks and penguins.
- A听说那里还有海豚。Tīng shuō nà lǐ hái yǒu hǎi tún.I've heard they've got dolphins there too.
- B太好了，海豚那么聪明，孩子们一定喜欢。Tài hǎo le, hǎi tún nà me cōng ming, hái zi men yī dìng xǐ huan.Great, dolphins are so clever, the kids will love them.
Example sentences
- 海洋里有很多动物。There are lots of animals in the ocean.
- 鲨鱼很可怕。Sharks are scary.
- 鲸鱼是最大的动物。Whales are the biggest animals.
- 海豚很聪明。Dolphins are clever.
- 海龟可以活很久。Sea turtles can live a very long time.
- 章鱼有八条腿。An octopus has eight legs.
- 小心水母！Watch out for jellyfish!
- 沙滩上有一只海星。There's a starfish on the beach.
- 企鹅不会飞。Penguins can't fly.
- 海豹在石头上晒太阳。The seals are sunbathing on the rocks.
- 这里的珊瑚很漂亮。The coral here is beautiful.
- 我在泰国学了潜水。I learned to dive in Thailand.
- 海底世界很神奇。The world under the sea is amazing.
- 周末带孩子去水族馆。Taking the kids to the aquarium at the weekend.
- 小鱼在水里游来游去。The little fish swim back and forth.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Sea life speaking island has 8 everyday questions about sea life to prepare your own answers to.