In modern times, people don’t come into contact with animals very often. Besides pests, pets and the animals that end up on our plate, city living especially can feel devoid of nature. The nature writer Robert Macfarlane has a book about how even the words we teach our children have become less and less natural. When some kids hear “bugs” they’re more likely to think of computer ones than those outside the door.
This may all sound dramatic, but there’s a good chance you haven’t spent much time thinking about animals around you recently. A trip to the Netherlands can change that, with countrysides filled with ecological diversity. And what better way to prepare for that than to study the words for animals in Dutch? To get you started, we put together an introductory guide to animal vocabulary. To hear each of the Dutch animal words pronounced by a native speaker, just hit the play button next to each term.
General Animal Vocab
the animal — het dier
the pet — het huisdier
the farm animal — het boerderijdier
the wild animal — het wilde dier
the sea creature — het zeedier
the veterinarian — de dierenarts
Names of Animals In Dutch
the dog — de hond
the cat — de kat
the fish — de vis
the mouse — de muis
the hamster — de hamster
the rabbit — het konijn
the rat — de rat
the guinea pig — de cavia
the chicken — de kip
the cow — de koe
the pig — het varken
the sheep — het schaap
the goat — de geit
the donkey — de ezel
the horse — het paard
the elephant — de olifant
the camel — de kameel
the bird — de vogel
the duck — de eend
the goose — de gans
the pigeon — de duif
the penguin — de pinguïn
the parrot — de papegaai
the owl — de uil
the eagle — de adelaar
the dolphin — de dolfijn
the octopus — de octopus
the blue whale — de blauwe vinvis
the jellyfish — de kwal
the starfish — de zeester
the shark — de haai
the sea turtle — de zeeschildpad
the bear — de beer
the wolf — de wolf
the crocodile — de krokodil
the snake — de slang
the kangaroo — de kangoeroe
the frog — de kikker
the squirrel — de eekhoorn
the giraffe — de giraf
the hippopotamus — het nijlpaard
the sloth — de luiaard
the deer — de ree