Chinese word

恐龙

Pronunciation

Pinyinkǒng lóng

Meaning

  • noundinosaur

Example

我小时候很喜欢恐龙。wǒ xiǎo shí hòu hěn xǐ huān kǒng lóng

I really liked dinosaurs when I was a child.

Illustration for 恐龙 (dinosaur)

More examples

博物馆里陈列着完整的恐龙化石。bó wù guǎn lǐ chén liè zhe wán zhěng de kǒng lóng huà shí

A complete dinosaur fossil is on display in the museum.

Core concept

A broad name for extinct animals whose past forms are inferred from fossil evidence.

Common phrases

  • 恐龙化石kǒng lóng huà shí

    dinosaur fossil

  • 恐龙博物馆kǒng lóng bó wù guǎn

    dinosaur museum

  • 恐龙蛋kǒng lóng dàn

    dinosaur egg

Similar words

动物dòng wù: Any living creature that is not a plant.
爬行动物pá xíng dòng wù: A scaly vertebrate animal that generally reproduces by laying eggs.
化石huà shí: The stone-preserved remains or marks left by an ancient organism.
史前生物shǐ qián shēng wù: A living thing from an ancient period before human beings existed.

Definition in Chinese

在日常语境中用来通称那些通过化石确认的古代已灭绝动物，不特指单一种类或时代。zài rì cháng yǔ jìng zhōng yòng lái tōng chēng nà xiē tōng guò huà shí què rèn de gǔ dài yǐ miè jué dòng wù bú tè zhǐ dān yì zhǒng lèi huò shí dài

Word origin

恐龙 (kǒnglóng, "dinosaur") was coined as a Chinese rendering of the modern scientific term, using 恐 (kǒng, "fearsome") and the familiar creature name 龙 (lóng, "dragon").

Usage tips

  • The word can refer to a whole group without marking a plural ending, so context or a number phrase is needed when the quantity matters.

Opposites

  • 现生动物xiàn shēng dòng wùliving animalsnoun
  • 现代生物xiàn dài shēng wùmodern organismsnoun

Related words

  • 恐龙化石kǒng lóng huà shídinosaur fossilnoun
  • 恐龙博物馆kǒng lóng bó wù guǎndinosaur museumnoun

Word lists with this word