A mongoose is a small, quick, furry animal from warm parts of Africa and Asia. It has a long body, a pointed face, and a tail, and it is famous for killing snakes — and rats too. People tell stories of a mongoose dancing around a cobra.

A mongoose一種獴（mongoose） is a small, quick, furry animal是一種體型小、動作快、毛茸茸的動物 from warm parts of Africa and Asia來自非洲和亞洲的溫暖地區。It has a long body, a pointed face, and a tail牠有細長的身體、尖尖的臉，還有一條尾巴，and it is famous for killing snakes — and rats too而且以會殺蛇聞名——也會抓老鼠。People tell stories of a mongoose dancing around a cobra人們流傳著獴繞著眼鏡蛇周旋、跳舞的故事。

It is not a kind of goose, even though the end of the word looks like goose. English speakers heard a foreign name and spelled it as if it belonged with goose; that is a folk story in the letters, not a real family link.

It is not a kind of goose牠不是鵝的一種，even though the end of the word looks like goose雖然這個字的字尾看起來很像goose（鵝）。English speakers heard a foreign name and spelled it as if it belonged with goose說英語的人聽到一個外來的名字，把它拼得好像跟goose是一家，that is a folk story in the letters, not a real family link但那只是拼字上湊巧的故事，不是真正的字源關係。

The word came into English in the 1690s from Portuguese manguço, from Marathi in India, and further back from Dravidian languages. Old English once had its own name, nǣderbita, 'snake-biter,' but mongoose took its place.

The word came into English in the 1690s這個字在1690年代進入英文，from Portuguese manguço源自葡萄牙文manguço，from Marathi in India再往前是印度的馬拉地語，and further back from Dravidian languages更早則來自達羅毗荼語系。Old English once had its own name, nǣderbita, 'snake-biter,'古英文本來自己有個字nǣderbita，意思是「咬蛇的東西」，but mongoose took its place但後來被mongoose取代了。

You meet it in nature films and in Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.

You meet it in nature films你會在自然生態影片裡看到牠 and in Kipling's Rikki-Tikki-Tavi也會出現在吉卜林的《Rikki-Tikki-Tavi》裡。

It is countable: one mongoose, two mongooses. Some people joke 'mongeese,' copying geese, but that is not the usual plural.

It is countable這個字是可數名詞：one mongoose單數是one mongoose，two mongooses複數是two mongooses。Some people joke 'mongeese,'有些人會開玩笑講成'mongeese'，copying geese模仿geese（鵝的複數）的樣子，but that is not the usual plural但那不是正式、常見的複數形。