动物园
dòngwùyuán · HSK 2
zoo
🦁🐘 动物园 = animal (动物) + garden (园)
动 = move, 物 = thing; together 动物 means moving-thing = animal. 园 is a walled garden or park (same character as in 公园 public park). So 动物园 literally reads as animal-garden = zoo.
动 — force 力 + heavy/重 (simplified from 動)
The traditional form 動 combines 重 (heavy) as the phonetic with 力 (force/strength) as the semantic, suggesting the effort needed to move something heavy. The simplified form 动 replaces 重 with 云, keeping 力 to convey action and motion.
园 — enclosure 囗 + 元 (yuán, phonetic)
园 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The outer 囗 (enclosure) shows a walled or fenced-off area, while 元 inside gives the sound 'yuán'. It originally meant a fenced garden or orchard, and still means garden, park, or cultivated grounds today.