Abstract:Animal idioms are important part of almost all the human languages; at the same time, the animal idioms widely exist in both English and Chinese, and they reflect their own cultural connotations.With the development of the society, animal idioms with different cultural connotations play an important role in communication between Chinese and English. What’s more, it has become the part which can not be neglected in Chinese and English learning. 

　　　This thesis tries to carry out the cross-cultural analysis of animal idioms and analyze and explore deeper understanding of animal idioms, and it aims to better understand the different and similar symbolic significance of animals in English and Chinese. This thesis also aims to arouse people’s interest in learning animal idioms. It will help people with right understanding of idioms and overcome the communication barriers. It will be meaningful in enhancing the cultural communication.

Key words: animal idioms; cultural connotation

中文摘要:动物习语几乎是所有语言中的一个重要的习语组成部分，其中英语和汉语中许多动物习语都反映各自的文化内涵。随着社会的不断发展，具有不同文化内涵的动物习语不仅在中英文化的交流中起着重要的作用，也成为语言学习中不可忽视的一个重要方面。

　　本文对英汉动物习语进行研究和探讨，更深地了解和学习动物习语，旨在更好地了解英汉词语中动物不同和相似的象征意义，还能让我们在学习和运用英语时，避免望文生义、生搬硬套、顾此失彼等问题，使我们正确掌握习语的意义，克服语际交流障碍。通过本文对动物习语介绍, 提高人们对习语和语言的学习兴趣，还能让我们掌握更丰富的语言文化知识，深入了解英汉的文化传统和风俗习惯的统一性和差异性，从而更好的进行文化交际，促进各民族文化的交融贯通。

关键词：动物习语；文化内涵