動物園
どうぶつえん
doubutsuen
= zoo
動物園 (doubutsuen) is the Japanese word for zoo — and Japanese zoos hold a unique place in the country’s cultural and family life, with a few having become national institutions built around beloved animal celebrities.
Doubutsuen refers to a zoo — a public facility where animals from various species are kept and displayed for education and recreation. Common phrases: 動物園に行く (doubutsuen ni iku — to go to the zoo), 動物園の動物 (doubutsuen no doubutsu — zoo animals). Related words: 水族館 (suizokukan — aquarium), 植物園 (shokubutsuen — botanical garden), 動物園飼育員 (doubutsuen shiiku-in — zookeeper).
The word 動物 (doubutsu — animal) is N4 vocabulary and appears frequently. Memorizing 動物園 alongside 動物 is efficient — the 園 suffix works the same way in 公園 (kouen — park), 幼稚園 (youchien — kindergarten), and 植物園 (shokubutsuen — botanical garden).
動物 (doubutsu) means ‘animal’: 動 (dou) means ‘to move/living’ and 物 (butsu/mono) means ‘thing/object’ — a living, moving thing. 園 (en) means ‘garden’ or ‘enclosure.’ Together: an enclosure for living creatures — a zoo.
Everyday use
週末に子どもを連れて動物園に行った。
Shuumatsu ni kodomo wo tsurete doubutsuen ni itta.
I took the kids to the zoo on the weekend.
Casual / Social Media
上野動物園のジャイアントパンダ、かわいすぎて何時間でも見ていられる
Ueno doubutsuen no jaiantopanda, kawaii sugite nan-jikan de mo mite irarereru
The giant pandas at Ueno Zoo are so cute I could watch them for hours
Formal / Cultural context
動物園は単なる娯楽施設を超え、希少種の保護と生態教育の場としての役割を担うようになっている。
Doubutsuen wa tan-naru goraku shisetsu wo koe, kishoushu no hogo to seitai kyouiku no ba toshite no yakuwari wo ninau you ni natte iru.
Zoos have gone beyond being mere entertainment facilities and now serve as sites for protecting rare species and providing ecological education.
Ueno Zoo (上野動物園) in Tokyo is Japan’s oldest zoo, opened in 1882, and has been at the center of Japanese public life ever since. The zoo gained international attention through its giant panda (ジャイアントパンダ) program — panda loans from China to Japanese zoos are diplomatic events covered by national news, and panda births become weeks-long media spectacles. The birth of twin pandas at Ueno in 2021 was reported on prime-time news and followed with the intensity reserved for major public events.
Japanese zoos are also notable for their role in public recreation culture. They are standard family outing destinations, frequently used for school trips (遠足, ensoku), and often located within larger parks (公園). Admission prices are generally affordable, and many major urban zoos are managed by local governments. The combination of educational purpose, accessible pricing, and lovable animal celebrities has made the 動物園 a deeply embedded feature of Japanese childhood.
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