animal
/ˈænɪml/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈænɪml/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈa-nə-məl/ (ame, mw) · /ˈæn.ɪ.məl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈæn.ɪ.məl/ (ame, ipa)
animal — 名詞
1. a living thing such as a dog, cow, lion, or rabbit — one that walks, breathes, a
動物
非人類、鳥、魚、昆蟲的活物
a living thing such as a dog, cow, lion, or rabbit — one that walks, breathes, and feels, but is not classed with people, with birds, with fish, or with insects in everyday talk.
Vesna feeds the farm animals every morning before school.
瑪雅每天上學前都會餵農場裡的動物。
common collocation: farm animals
The zoo in Taipei keeps more than two hundred animals from Africa and Asia.
台北的動物園飼養了兩百多隻來自非洲和亞洲的動物。
Wild animals such as bears and wolves live in this forest.
熊和狼這類的野生動物住在這片森林裡。
Vets at the local clinic treat sick animals from nearby farms and homes every day.
當地診所的獸醫每天都在治療附近農場和住家送來的生病動物。
The Watanabe family keep small animals like rabbits and hamsters in their garden shed.
渡邊一家在花園的小屋裡養了兔子、倉鼠這樣的小動物。
文法句型
countable noun
用法筆記
In everyday speech, 'animal' usually excludes birds, fish, and insects, even though biology counts them as animals. Sense 2 covers the wider scientific meaning.
常見錯誤
2. in biology, any living being able to move by itself and respond to its surroundi
動物；生物
生物學上會自行活動的生物
in biology, any living being able to move by itself and respond to its surroundings — humans, birds, fish, and insects all count — used to separate moving life from plants.
Biologists group living things into two main kingdoms: animals and plants.
生物學家把生物分成兩大界：動物界和植物界。
scientific use: animals vs plants
Humans are social animals who need to live and work in groups.
人類是社會性動物，需要群居和共事。
common phrase: social animal
Insects are the largest group of animals on Earth, with millions of species.
昆蟲是地球上物種最多的動物類群，有數百萬種。
Unlike plants, animals must eat leaves, fruit, or other creatures to get the energy they need.
和植物不同，動物必須吃葉子、果實或其他生物，才能取得身體所需的能量。
Dr. Olu studies how warmer summers change the tiny animals living in mountain lakes near Sapporo.
田中博士在研究氣候變暖如何改變札幌附近高山湖泊裡的微小動物。
- plant
the contrasting biological kingdom
文法句型
countable noun
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this scientific sense includes humans, birds, fish, and insects, while sense 1 excludes them. Context (a biology class, a textbook) signals which sense applies.
3. a strongly disapproving label for a person whose behaviour — often violent, brut
畜生；禽獸
形容兇殘或下流的人
a strongly disapproving label for a person whose behaviour — often violent, brutal, or filthy — feels so far below normal human decency that you compare them to a wild beast.
The man who hurt those children is an animal and belongs in prison.
傷害那些孩子的男人就是畜生，應該關進牢裡。
pattern: be + an animal (strong moral judgement)
After the fight, fans were calling the player an animal on social media.
比賽結束後，球迷在社群媒體上罵那名球員是禽獸。
Stop eating with your hands like an animal — use a fork and a spoon, please.
別像畜生一樣用手抓著吃——拜託，用叉子和湯匙。
Camille drives like an animal — too fast, and far too close to other cars.
馬可仕開車像動物一樣——又快又緊貼別的車。
- gentleman
polite, well-behaved person — direct opposite in tone
文法句型
singular noun, often after 'an'
用法筆記
Highly informal and offensive when aimed at a real person. Often used in headlines and online comments about violent crime, or jokingly among friends about messy or rude behaviour.
常見錯誤
4. a colourful label, normally with an adjective in front, for a person, situation,
某型人物
具特定性格或屬性的人或事物
a colourful label, normally with an adjective in front, for a person, situation, or thing seen as a recognisable type — for example a 'party animal' (someone who loves wild socialising) or 'a different animal' (something that works on completely different rules).
Ines is a real party animal and stays out dancing until sunrise.
卡洛斯是個十足的派對狂，常跳舞跳到天亮。
fixed phrase: party animal
Running a small dairy farm in Yilan is a very different animal from running a city office in Taipei.
在宜蘭經營小型酪農場，和在台北管理城市辦公室，是完全不同的兩回事。
pattern: a different animal from X
For Mei, performing live in a Broadway theatre and acting in a Netflix drama are two completely different animals.
對麗娜來說，在百老匯劇場現場演出和拍攝 Netflix 戲劇，是兩件完全不同的事。
My grandfather was a political animal who read the newspaper for hours each day.
我祖父是個熱衷政治的人，每天都看好幾個小時的報紙。
文法句型
a + ADJECTIVE + animal
用法筆記
Almost always appears with an adjective ('political', 'party', 'different') or after 'a different'. Without such modification it slips back into senses 1 or 3.
常見錯誤
animal — 形容詞
1. produced by, taken from, or coming out of an animal's body — often used about fo
動物製的
從動物身上取得或產出的
produced by, taken from, or coming out of an animal's body — often used about food, materials, or waste.
Mei avoids animal products like milk, cheese, and eggs.
麗娜不吃牛奶、起司、雞蛋這類動物製品。
very common collocation: animal products
The soap is made without animal fat, so vegans can use it.
這款肥皂沒有用動物油脂，所以純素者也能用。
collocation: animal fat
Farmers use animal waste to make the soil in their fields richer.
農夫會用動物糞肥讓田裡的土壤更肥沃。
The coach told the young swimmers that their bodies need both animal and plant protein to stay strong.
教練告訴年輕的游泳選手，身體需要動物性和植物性兩種蛋白質才能維持強健。
- plant-based
made from plants instead of animals
- vegetable
from plants, especially in cooking contexts
文法句型
animal + NOUN
用法筆記
Almost always sits directly before a noun ('animal fat', 'animal protein'). It is rarely used after the verb 'be' — say 'this fat is from an animal', not 'this fat is animal'.
常見錯誤
2. describing things that resemble or represent animals — their shapes, sounds, mov
動物的
與動物相關或形似動物的
describing things that resemble or represent animals — their shapes, sounds, movements, or general world — rather than describing material that comes from inside an animal's body.
Schoolchildren at the natural history museum learned how ancient animal life slowly disappeared from the oceans.
在自然歷史博物館裡，學童們學到了古代的動物生命如何從海洋中慢慢消失。
collocation: animal life
The cave paintings show simple animal shapes drawn in red and black.
洞穴壁畫上有用紅色和黑色畫的簡單動物形狀。
Camille dressed as a tiger and made loud animal noises at the party.
馬可仕在派對上扮老虎，還大聲學動物叫。
In the children's yoga class, Ms. Lee taught animal poses such as the cat, the cobra, and the dog.
在兒童瑜伽課上，李老師教大家做貓式、眼鏡蛇式和下犬式等動物姿勢。
文法句型
animal + NOUN
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about resembling or relating to animals (animal noises, animal shapes), while sense 1 is about material that comes out of an animal's body (animal fat, animal milk).
3. having to do with the body's strong feelings such as hunger, fear, or sexual des
動物本能的
身體本能的，非理性或精神層面
having to do with the body's strong feelings such as hunger, fear, or sexual desire, rather than thoughts, reason, or the spirit.
The novel describes the soldier's animal fear as bombs fell on the village.
小說描寫炸彈落在村裡時，那名士兵發自本能的恐懼。
collocation: animal fear
Two strangers met on the train and felt an immediate animal attraction.
兩名陌生人在火車上相遇，立刻產生強烈的肉體吸引。
collocation: animal attraction
After three days lost in the mountains, the rescued climbers tore into the rice with an animal hunger.
在山裡迷路三天後，獲救的登山客像野獸般飢餓地撲向那碗白飯。
The boxer fought with animal energy in the final round of the match.
那名拳擊手在最後一回合裡爆發出野性般的力量。
文法句型
animal + NOUN (often abstract)
用法筆記
Used before nouns of feeling or impulse (fear, hunger, desire, energy, attraction) and almost never after 'be'. Common in literary or formal writing; in casual speech, people say 'raw' or 'wild' instead.