猩猩 (xīngxing): orangutan

Measure Word

一只猩猩 zhī

A reduplicated character: 猩猩. The animal radical 犭 signals it's an animal; the right side 星 (star) gives the pronunciation.

Dòngwùyuán lǐ yǒu yī zhī dà xīngxing.

There's a gorilla in the zoo.

Xīngxing shì fēicháng cōngming de dòngwù.

Orangutans are very intelligent animals.

Xīngxing de qīxīdì zhèngzài jiǎnshǎo.

The habitat of orangutans is shrinking.

mistakes

猩猩 alone means orangutan. 大猩猩 (big ape) = gorilla, 黑猩猩 (black ape) = chimpanzee. Don't mix them up — adding 大 or 黑 changes the species entirely.

猩 xīng