zhí wù
plants
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植物需要阳光才能生长。
zhíwù xūyào yángguāng cáinéng shēngzhǎng.
Plants need sunlight to grow.
这些植物都很漂亮。
zhèxiē zhíwù dōu hěn piàoliang.
These plants are all very beautiful.
我喜歡在植物園裡散步。
wǒ xǐhuān zài zhíwùyuán lǐ sàn bù.
I like to walk in the botanical garden.
草木 (cǎomù)
plants
花草 (huācǎo)
flowers and plants
动物 (dòngwù)
animal
矿物 (kuàngwù)
mineral
The Chinese word 植物 (zhíwù) for "plant" is composed of two characters: 植 (zhí) and 物 (wù). The character 植 originally meant "to plant" or "to cultivate", and it is often used in words related to agriculture or gardening. The character 物 originally meant "thing" or "object", and it is used in a wide variety of words to refer to different types of things. When these two characters are combined, they form the word 植物, which specifically refers to plants.The word 植物 was first used in the Chinese language during the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). It was originally used to refer to all living things, but over time it came to be used specifically for plants. The word 植物 is still used in this sense today, and it is one of the most common words used to refer to plants in Chinese.
