<blockquote>
  <p>实验动物中心</p>
</blockquote>

<p>My first impression is that it's a center where they do some experiments on animals in order to get some scientific result, such as medicine. This is like your first interpretation. </p>

<p>But I would not be surprised if they create "experimental animals" in this center, like your second definition. </p>

<p>The scope should be defined by the founder and we can't figure it all out only by the name. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-11T08:50:14.390Z
No, it doesn't mean do experiments on animals, it would be "动物实验中心" which matches your description.
thinwa
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-09T05:39:30.167Z
2018-04-09T05:39:30.167Z
dan
<p>Reading the English, I first thought of horses with 6 legs or cows that lay eggs!</p>

<p>A friend told me what Jason Swift, above, wrote, 动物实验中心 might be better, but it seems the Chinese is totally unambiguous for a Chinese person: "What？ Why is that funny in English?" </p>

<p>Here we take cute little animals and perform cruel and darstardly experiments on them in the name of a pointless pursuit in order to justify a research grant.</p>

<p>在这里，我们用可爱的小动物作为幌子，以毫无目的的名义，对它们进行残忍和卑鄙的实验，以证明获得研究资助是合理的。</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-09T12:43:45.657Z
动物实验中心 is where experiments are done on animals. 实验动物中心 is where such animals are raised.
fefe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-09T12:13:38.517Z
2018-04-09T12:13:38.517Z
Pedroski
<p>I think you are confused by the word "实验". You may think it's a verb. Actually it's a noun used as adjective here, although it could be used as a verb.
To me, it's very clearly expressing the meaning that "this is the place where we raise animals for (medical) experiments". </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-11T08:46:05.667Z
2018-04-12T09:26:27.220Z
2018-04-12T09:26:27.220Z
thinwa
<p>Yeah, it is an ambiguous title, what the heck is 实验动物? </p>

<p>At the end, it means <code>animals for experimenting</code>, but why not make it clear by <code>实验用动物中心</code></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-12T05:12:03.303Z
2018-04-12T05:12:03.303Z
sfy
<p>实验动物中心 sounds more like a place where they raise and offer animals for experiments, the keyword here is 动物.</p>

<p>If this is where animal experiments take place, then 动物实验中心 would be a better name, I think, because the keyword is 实验.</p>

<p>As for the meaning "experimentally creating animals" you mentioned, no, I will never think that way, nothing in this name suggests "creating".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-09T06:39:55.207Z
2018-04-09T06:39:55.207Z
Jason Swift
<p>On our campus (Nankai University, Jinnan campus), we have this building:</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/Riz1g.jpg" alt="实验动物中心 Experimental animal center[1]"></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>实验动物中心<br>
  Shíyàn dòngwù zhōngxīn<br>
  Experimental animal center</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The English is ambiguous, and it could mean:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>experimenting on animals, such as testing medicines on laboratory mice (although technically this is not what it says); or</p></li>
<li><p>creating "experimental animals", such as through genetic engineering, cloning, and so on.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Perhaps pedantically, in English it could also mean that the "animal center" is experimental.  (If you ignore context, this would be the correct meaning.)</p>

<p>The translation from Chinese to English is direct and literal (<a href="http://dict.cn/%E5%AE%9E%E9%AA%8C" rel="nofollow noreferrer">实验</a> = to experiment; <a href="http://dict.cn/%E5%8A%A8%E7%89%A9" rel="nofollow noreferrer">动物</a> = animals; <a href="http://dict.cn/%E4%B8%AD%E5%BF%83" rel="nofollow noreferrer">中心</a> = center), which makes me think the same ambiguity could occur in Chinese also.  However, maybe the Chinese grammar excludes one of these possibilities.</p>

<p><strong>Question</strong>: Is 实验动物中心 (experimental animal center) ambiguous in that it could mean either "experimenting on animals" or "experimentally creating animals"?</p>

<hr>

<p><em>Update</em>: It seems the English name on this building has changed:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/v6vnY.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/v6vnY.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-09T09:03:45.537Z
alternate translation： Tianjin Laboratory Animal Center
Academy of science in Tianjin, China http://tjzhongfa.com/m/project-details.aspx?category=5&id=31  https://www.google.com/search?q=%E5%8D%97%E5%BC%80%E5%AE%9E%E9%AA%8C%E5%8A%A8%E7%89%A9%E4%B8%AD%E5%BF%83&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-ab
user6065
<meaning><meaning-in-context>
Is 实验动物中心 (experimental animal center) ambiguous in that it could mean either "experimenting on animals" or "experimentally creating animals"?
# Is 实验动物中心 (experimental animal center) ambiguous in that it could mean either "experimenting on animals" or "experimentally creating animals"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-04-09)

On our campus (Nankai University, Jinnan campus), we have this building:

![实验动物中心 Experimental animal center[1]](https://i.sstatic.net/Riz1g.jpg)

> 实验动物中心  
> Shíyàn dòngwù zhōngxīn  
> Experimental animal center

The English is ambiguous, and it could mean:

1. experimenting on animals, such as testing medicines on laboratory mice (although technically this is not what it says); or
2. creating "experimental animals", such as through genetic engineering, cloning, and so on.

Perhaps pedantically, in English it could also mean that the "animal center" is experimental. (If you ignore context, this would be the correct meaning.)

The translation from Chinese to English is direct and literal ([实验](http://dict.cn/%E5%AE%9E%E9%AA%8C) = to experiment; [动物](http://dict.cn/%E5%8A%A8%E7%89%A9) = animals; [中心](http://dict.cn/%E4%B8%AD%E5%BF%83) = center), which makes me think the same ambiguity could occur in Chinese also. However, maybe the Chinese grammar excludes one of these possibilities.

**Question**: Is 实验动物中心 (experimental animal center) ambiguous in that it could mean either "experimenting on animals" or "experimentally creating animals"?

---

*Update*: It seems the English name on this building has changed:

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/v6vnY.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/v6vnY.jpg)

**Tags:** meaning, meaning-in-context

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: alternate translation： Tianjin Laboratory Animal Center Academy of science in Tianjin, China http://tjzhongfa.com/m/project-details.aspx?category=5&id=31  https://www.google.com/search?q=%E5%8D%97%E5%BC%80%E5%AE%9E%E9%AA%8C%E5%8A%A8%E7%89%A9%E4%B8%AD%E5%BF%83&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-ab  

---

## 5 answers

### Answer by username_7 on 2018-04-09. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

实验动物中心 sounds more like a place where they raise and offer animals for experiments, the keyword here is 动物.

If this is where animal experiments take place, then 动物实验中心 would be a better name, I think, because the keyword is 实验.

As for the meaning "experimentally creating animals" you mentioned, no, I will never think that way, nothing in this name suggests "creating".


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-04-09. Score: 2

> 实验动物中心

My first impression is that it's a center where they do some experiments on animals in order to get some scientific result, such as medicine. This is like your first interpretation.

But I would not be surprised if they create "experimental animals" in this center, like your second definition.

The scope should be defined by the founder and we can't figure it all out only by the name.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: No, it doesn't mean do experiments on animals, it would be "动物实验中心" which matches your description.  

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### Answer by username_4 on 2018-04-09. Score: 1

Reading the English, I first thought of horses with 6 legs or cows that lay eggs!

A friend told me what username_7, above, wrote, 动物实验中心 might be better, but it seems the Chinese is totally unambiguous for a Chinese person: "What？ Why is that funny in English?"

Here we take cute little animals and perform cruel and darstardly experiments on them in the name of a pointless pursuit in order to justify a research grant.

在这里，我们用可爱的小动物作为幌子，以毫无目的的名义，对它们进行残忍和卑鄙的实验，以证明获得研究资助是合理的。

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: 动物实验中心 is where experiments are done on animals. 实验动物中心 is where such animals are raised.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-04-11. Score: 1

I think you are confused by the word "实验". You may think it's a verb. Actually it's a noun used as adjective here, although it could be used as a verb.
To me, it's very clearly expressing the meaning that "this is the place where we raise animals for (medical) experiments".


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### Answer by username_6 on 2018-04-12. Score: 0

Yeah, it is an ambiguous title, what the heck is 实验动物?

At the end, it means `animals for experimenting`, but why not make it clear by `实验用动物中心`


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