Home › Chinese › Glossary › owl
Chinese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "owl" in Chinese?
猫头鹰
māo tóu yīng
In Chinese, "owl" is 猫头鹰 (māo tóu yīng).
Listen to the pronunciation:
Free Chinese learning game. No sign-up, play in browser. See all games
Pronunciation
Aim for "māo tóu yīng" when you say it, "māo" is flat and level, held steady (tone 1); "tóu" is rising sharply like a question (tone 2), and finally "yīng" is flat and level, held steady (tone 1).
Writing and usage
猫头鹰 is written using hanzi. It's a noun, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.
Example sentence
夜里一只猫头鹰轻声叫着。
yè lǐ yī zhī māo tóu yīng qīng shēng jiào zhe 。
An owl hooted softly in the night.
Test your Chinese knowledge in our free browser games.
How to remember 猫头鹰
Māo tóu yīng literally means "cat-head eagle", picture an owl with a cat face, a quick anchor for "猫头鹰" (māo tóu yīng).
Related words
Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.
Questions about 猫头鹰
How do you pronounce 猫头鹰?
Aim for "māo tóu yīng" when you say it, "māo" is flat and level, held steady (tone 1); "tóu" is rising sharply like a question (tone 2), and finally "yīng" is flat and level, held steady (tone 1).
Is 猫头鹰 formal or casual?
猫头鹰 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.
How is 猫头鹰 used in Chinese?
猫头鹰 is used the same way as the equivalent English noun. For example: 夜里一只猫头鹰轻声叫着。 (An owl hooted softly in the night.).
Where can I practice Chinese words for free?
You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Owl" in other languages
Curated by Callan Ratcliffe
This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Chinese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.
Noun Town on PC, Mac & VR
These browser games are just a taste. The full Noun Town is a bigger, deeper 3D world: explore a living town, talk to its characters and learn thousands of words in immersive VR, Mixed Reality, or on your computer. It's an award-winning game with 590+ reviews on Steam and 12 languages to learn.
See the full game ▶Spot an error? Email us at contact@noun.town