Mandarin Monday: How to Talk to Your Pets in Chinese

Huang Chenkuang | May 24, 2021 11:30 am | 2 comments | 2974 reads

I recently joined the 猫奴 māo nú “cat slaves” club (an expression used by the Chinese cat community but one that will be understood by anyone who has owned a cat) after taking in a young kitten that I found lying on the street on my way home from work. Stressed and lying on the hot pavement and unable to move on account of being partially paralyzed due to an injury to her back legs, Little Thirsty, as she's now called, caught my attention immediately and cried her way right into my heart. Several days on, she is now almost totally recovered and is ~~getting into lots of trouble~~ exploring and generally having a great time as kittens do.

As I slowly acclimatize myself to my new role as a cat mom, I've been learning important “cat language,” and often find myself talking to her like she’s a human. I know that Xiao Ke can’t understand exactly what I'm saying, but I do believe that animals can intuit emotional intention according to your tone of voice. For example, by using an informative tone or by saying “no” in an injunctive tone, animals can often gauge whether you are praising or scolding respectively. According to various scientific studies, talking to your pets also helps strengthen the bond between you, the natural byproduct of inviting an animal to share your home and life.

So, if you talk to your pets like they’re human, you’re certainly not alone. Whether you are a proud pet owner, or simply can't stop yourself from falling to your knees for a scratch and cuddle when you see a cute dog or cat on the street, here are some of the useful words and phrases you can use to communicate with your fluffy friends.

When you see a cute animal on the street:

嘿小宝贝/小家伙！
Hēi xiǎo bǎobèi!/xiǎo jiāhuo!
Hey little cutie/little handsome!

你怎么跑到这儿来了？
Nǐ zěnme pǎo dào zhè'er láile?
What are you doing here?

你怎么了/你没事吧？
Nǐ zěnme le/nǐ méishì ba?
Are you alright?

你长得真可爱！
Nǐ zhǎng dé zhēn kě'ài!
You’re so cute!

你怎么这么萌？
Nǐ zěnme zhème méng?
Why are you so cute?

好了好了，没事了。
Hǎole hǎole, méishìle.
There there, it’s alright.

来，过来，别害怕。
Lái, guòlái, bié hàipà.
Come here, don’t be afraid.

过来吧，这有吃的。
Guòlái ba, zhè yǒu chī de.
Come, come and eat.

哪里不舒服？我看看。
Nǎlǐ bú shūfú? Wǒ kàn kàn.
Where does it hurt? Let me check.