In the midst of a pandemic, I found myself enjoying a lot more time in nature. As it was springtime when all things slowed down, I had the privilege to witness quite a lot of baby animals joining the animal kingdom, which was something rather pleasing to see during lockdown.
At this Ed’s Elevenses, I am going to list the names of seven animals and their translation that I watched growing up really fast over a few weeks back then.
| Animals in Chinese | Animals | Young Animals |
| 天鵝 | Swan | Cygnet |
| 鵝 | Goose | Gosling |
| 鴨 | Duck | Duckling |
| 雞 | Chicken | Chick |
| 牛 | Cattle | Calf |
| 羊 | Sheep | Lamb |
| 馬 | Horse | Foal |
Are cattle and cow the same?
Informally, they are two interchangeable terms; however, “cattle” is used as a gender-neutral term to name such domesticated animals, such as the frequently seen “黃牛” (lit. yellow cattle) in Hong Kong (the Chinese translation for buffalo is “水牛” (lit. water cattle)), whereas “cow” is a female cattle and “bull” is the male.
Edison Tam MA MCIL CL is a Translator, Proofreader, and Copyeditor (zh-hk/en) who works with students, independent non-fiction writers, academic researchers, and clients from businesses and organisations of all sizes.
He is Chartered Linguist and Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL), and has undergone wide-ranging academic training in Business, Modern Languages, and Applied Linguistics in Hong Kong, London, and Barcelona.
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