Why does the Chinese word for "Cat" sound like
Meow?!

猫

The Real Meaning

In Mandarin Chinese, the character 猫 (pronounced as māo) actually translates to Cat.

The Funny Part

Cats say 'meow' and the Chinese word for cat IS 'māo'. Coincidence? We think not.

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Nice Teacher says...

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猫 means cat! māo — first tone, high and flat. It even sounds like 'meow'! How cute is that?