Animals in Spanish: vocabulary list, pronunciation and a classroom routine

Animal vocabulary in Spanish

In the pronunciation column, capitals mark the stressed syllable. “h” stands for the Spanish jota, a throaty sound like the ch in Scottish “loch”. “th” is how Spain pronounces z, and c before e or i; in Latin America, the Canaries and parts of Andalusia it is simply “s”. “rr” is a rolled r.

Pets

Farm animals

Wild animals

Sea creatures, birds and minibeasts

Some animals change name across the Spanish-speaking world. The pig is el cerdo in Spain, el chancho in much of South America and el puerco in Mexico. The turkey is el pavo, but el guajolote in Mexico. The guinea pig is la cobaya or el conejillo de Indias in Spain and el cuy in the Andes.

Gender: el perro, la perra

1. Many animals have a masculine and a feminine form. Swap -o for -a, or add -a: el gato, la gata; el león, la leona. The masculine covers the species: Me gustan los gatos.
2. Some pairs use two different words. el toro and la vaca, el caballo and la yegua, el gallo and la gallina, as in English bull and cow.
3. Many animals have one gender only. la jirafa, la serpiente, la ballena, la mariposa, el búho, el tiburón: the article never changes. To specify the sex, add macho or hembra: la jirafa macho, el tiburón hembra.
4. El águila is feminine. Feminine nouns that start with a stressed a- take el and un in the singular: el águila, un águila, but las águilas, and adjectives stay feminine: el águila blanca.

Plurals to watch

• el pez → los peces: z becomes c before e.
• el ratón → los ratones, el león → los leones, el delfín → los delfines: the written accent disappears, the stress stays in the same place.
• el hámster → los hámsteres, the plural recommended by the RAE; hámsters is also heard.

Pronunciation for English speakers

• perro or pero? Perro (dog) has a rolled rr; pero (but) has a single tap. The difference changes the meaning.
• b and v sound the same. La vaca starts like “bah”, never with an English v.
• ll sounds like y in most of Spain and Latin America: caballo, gallina, ballena. In Argentina and Uruguay it is closer to “sh” or the s in “measure”.
• The jota: conejo, oveja, abeja, jirafa. Push air from the back of the throat.
• h is silent: hormiga is “or-MEE-gah”, búho is “BOO-oh”. Hámster is the exception: its h is pronounced like a jota.

Useful phrases and idioms

¿Tienes mascota?Have you got a pet?

Tengo un perro que se llama Max.I’ve got a dog called Max.

Mi animal favorito es el delfín porque es inteligente.My favourite animal is the dolphin because it’s clever.

Pez or pescado? A live fish is el pez; fish as food is el pescado. Tengo un pez de colores (I’ve got a goldfish), but Me gusta el pescado (I like fish).

Animals also make different noises in Spanish, a favourite with KS2 classes: el perro hace guau, el gato hace miau, la vaca hace mu, el gallo hace quiquiriquí, el pato hace cuac.

Common idioms

Typical mistakes of English-speaking learners

• Leaving out the article: “perro” alone in a list, then “la perro” in a sentence. The gender only sticks if the article is learnt with the word.
• “La águila”: it is el águila, even though the word is feminine.
• Pez for food: Como pez sounds like eating a pet. It is Como pescado.
• Legs: animals have patas, not piernas: Una araña tiene ocho patas.

In class: animals as a word of the day

1. Show the picture and the English word: “owl”.
2. Ask ¿Cómo se dice en español? Pupils whisper a guess to a partner or write it on a mini whiteboard.
3. Reveal el búho with its pronunciation. The class repeats it together, then two or three pupils alone. Point out the silent h.
4. Show an example sentence: El búho duerme de día.
5. Give the reuse task: Describe el búho: es…, tiene… Pupils add a colour or a size.
6. End with yesterday’s animal: ¿Cómo se dice “snail”?

That is exactly what a daily routine does: one word, seen, heard, said and reused, then brought back the next day.

Riddles and games

Riddles (adivinanzas) turn a known word into a listening task: Es grande y gris, tiene una trompa y orejas enormes. ¿Qué es? (el elefante). From A2, pupils write their own with es, tiene, vive en and come.

• A1Name the animal with its article and a colour: Es un gato negro.
• A2Pets and descriptions: Tengo un perro que se llama Max. Es pequeño y muy simpático.
• B1Comparisons and habitats: El guepardo es más rápido que el león. Vive en la sabana.
• B2Opinions and idioms: Es importante que protejamos a las ballenas. En clase de español, estoy como pez en el agua.

At KS2, animal noises and a mime game are enough. At KS3, insist on the article. At GCSE, animals return through the environment: move on to comparisons and opinions.

For more illustrated words between lessons, the free site unapalabrapordia.es, created by the maker of VocaDial, publishes an illustrated Spanish word every day, translated into French, English and German, with its pronunciation and an example sentence recorded in all four languages.

Frequently asked questions