Chinese word

蚂蚁

Pronunciation

Pinyinmǎ yǐ

Meaning

  • nounant

Example

我看见一只蚂蚁。wǒ kàn jiàn yì zhī má yǐ

I saw an ant.

Illustration for 蚂蚁 (ant)

More examples

一群蚂蚁在地上爬。yì qún má yǐ zài dì shàng pá

A group of ants is crawling on the ground.

Core concept

A small insect that belongs to an organized colony and moves along the ground.

Common phrases

  • 一只蚂蚁yì zhī má yǐ

    an ant

  • 蚂蚁窝má yǐ wō

    ants' nest

Similar words

昆虫kūn chóng: A six-legged insect whose body has a head, middle part, and abdomen.
虫子chóng zi: A familiar, casual word for a small insect or bug.
白蚁bái yǐ: A small insect that feeds on wood and may live inside wooden structures.

Definition in Chinese

一种身体较小、常常成群生活的昆虫。yì zhǒng shēn tǐ jiào xiǎo cháng cháng chéng qún shēng huó de kūn chóng

Word origin

The spelling 蚂蚁 (mǎyǐ, "ant") uses two insect-related characters whose 虫 (chóng, "insect") parts show the category and whose other parts mainly support pronunciation.

Usage tips

  • When a number comes before 蚂蚁 (mǎyǐ, "ant"), Chinese uses the classifier 只 (zhī, "animal classifier"), as with many small animals.

Word lists with this word