How do you say "tortoise" in Chinese?

乌龟

wū guī

Noun Hanzi

In Chinese, "tortoise" is 乌龟 (wū guī).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

This one reads "wū guī" with first tone, then first tone; picture your pitch held flat and steady, almost like humming one note.

Writing and usage

乌龟 is written using hanzi. It's a noun, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.

Example sentence

这只老动作非常缓慢。

zhè zhǐ lǎo dòng zuò fēi cháng huǎn màn 。

The old tortoise moved very slowly.

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How to remember 乌龟

Think of the exact scene of when the old tortoise moved very slowly; it pairs naturally with the sound "wū guī".

Related words

Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.

Questions about 乌龟

How do you pronounce 乌龟?

This one reads "wū guī" with first tone, then first tone; picture your pitch held flat and steady, almost like humming one note.

Is 乌龟 formal or casual?

乌龟 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.

How is 乌龟 used in Chinese?

乌龟 is used the same way as the equivalent English noun. For example: 这只老动作非常缓慢。 (The old tortoise moved very slowly.).

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.

"Tortoise" in other languages

Curated by Jack 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.

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