Chinese word

卡通

Pronunciation

Pinyinkǎ tōng

Meaning

  • nouncartoon

Example

今晚我们一起看卡通吧。jīn wǎn wǒ men yì qǐ kàn kǎ tōng ba

Let's watch cartoons together tonight.

Illustration for 卡通 (cartoon)

More examples

设计师常把人物画成卡通风格。shè jì shī cháng bǎ rén wù huà chéng kǎ tōng fēng gé

Designers often draw people in a cartoon style.

Core concept

A playful drawn world that moves on screen or appears as a cartoon-style figure.

Common phrases

  • 给卡通配音gěi kǎ tōng pèi yīn

    dub a cartoon

  • 卡通风格kǎ tōng fēng gé

    cartoon style

  • 卡通周边kǎ tōng zhōu biān

    cartoon merchandise

Similar words

动画dòng huà: Moving images created by showing still pictures one after another.
动画片dòng huà piàn: A complete animated story made as a short work or a full-length work.
动漫dòng màn: A popular-culture field centered on stylized animation and illustrated stories.
漫画màn huà: A story made of still pictures and read in installments or book form.

Definition in Chinese

口语中对动画片或动画节目的通称，常指短篇或面向儿童的动画，也可泛指具有卡通风格的形象。kóu yǔ zhōng duì dòng huà piàn huò dòng huà jié mù de tōng chēng cháng zhǐ duǎn piān huò miàn xiàng ér tóng de dòng huà yě kě fàn zhǐ jù yǒu kǎ tōng fēng gé de xíng xiàng

Word origin

卡通 (kǎtōng, "cartoon") is a sound-based borrowing from English cartoon, with Chinese extending it to animated screen works and their playful visual style.

Usage tips

  • English usually treats animation as the broader category, while cartoon can sound more informal or child-oriented; this contrast helps place the Chinese word in casual speech.

Other meanings

  • animationnoun
  • cartoon shownoun
  • children's cartoonnoun

Opposites

  • 真人zhēn rénlive actionnoun

Related words

  • 卡通片kǎ tōng piàncartoon filmnoun
  • 卡通风格kǎ tōng fēng gécartoon stylenoun
  • 卡通周边kǎ tōng zhōu biāncartoon merchandisenoun

Word lists with this word