How To Talk About Animals In Polish

Can you swim with the best of the ryby?
wolves in snow illustrating polish animal names

The world is a big place. You probably know that as someone who’s studying Polish, and you probably understand that as a human who inhabits a vast green Earth with many other beings. You’ll be missing out if you don’t eventually learn some Polish animal names to help you talk about the cute creatures in your midst.

Whether you need a few extra words under your belt before you cross “visit a Polish zoo” off your bucket list or you’re merely trying to become a more well-rounded Polish speaker, these Polish animal names will be enough to get you started. Polish pronunciation can be tricky, but you can click the play button on each of the words below to hear how they’re pronounced by a native speaker.

General Animal Vocab

farm animal — zwierzę hodowlane

fur — sierść

pet — zwierzę domowe

sea creature — zwierzę morskie

wild animal — dzikie zwierzę

Polish Animal Names

bird — ptak

bear — niedźwiedź

camel — wielbłąd

cat — kot

chicken — kura

cow — krowa

crocodile — krokodyl

dog — pies

donkey — osioł

duck — kaczka

elephant — słoń

fish — ryba

frog — żaba

giraffe — żyrafa

goat — koza

goose — gęś

guinea pig — świnka morska

hamster — chomik

hare — zając

hippopotamus — hipopotam

horse — koń

kangaroo — kangur

mouse — mysz

octopus — ośmiornica

owl — sowa

pig — świnia

pigeon — gołąb

pony — kucyk

rabbit — królik

rat — szczur

shark — rekin

sheep — owca

squirrel — wiewiórka

snake — wąż

swan — łabędź

wolf — wilk

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Steph Koyfman

Steph is a senior content producer who has spent over five years writing about language and culture for Babbel. She grew up bilingually and had an early love affair with books, and, later, studied English literature and journalism in college. She also speaks Russian and Spanish, but she’s a little rusty on those fronts.

Steph is a senior content producer who has spent over five years writing about language and culture for Babbel. She grew up bilingually and had an early love affair with books, and, later, studied English literature and journalism in college. She also speaks Russian and Spanish, but she’s a little rusty on those fronts.

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