Newcomer A1How To Talk About Animals In Spanish
Do you prefer los perros or los gatos?
By Dylan Lyons
Key Takeaways
The article provides a practical Spanish animal vocabulary toolkit, covering general terms (mascota, animal de la granja/salvaje/marino, veterinario/a) and a wide range of species from pets (perro, gato, pez) to farm, wild, and sea creatures.
It includes many common animal names across categories (e.g., gallina, vaca, caballo; oso, lobo, serpiente; delfín, pulpo, tiburón; águila, pingüino, loro), helping learners discuss animals in everyday and travel contexts.
The last section translates animal sounds into Spanish onomatopoeia (guau, miau, cuac cuac, muu, croac, quiquiriquí), adding cultural nuance.
In the midst of turmoil and hardship, animals regularly bring joy to our lives — on the internet and in the real world. We love them as pets, we marvel at them in the wild, and we play with them on the street. Animals are such an important part of our lives, it only makes sense that animal-related vocabulary would be high on our priority list when learning a new language. Once you know how to talk about animals in Spanish, you’ll be able to have more joyful conversations, more educational travel experiences, and more opportunities to pet dogs in public.
Here’s a list of some of the most useful vocab for discussing animals in Spanish. We also included how some animal sounds are articulated in Spanish, in case you were curious.
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General Animal Vocab
the animal — el animal [el ah-nee-MAL]
the pet — la mascota [la mahs-COH-tah]
the farm animal — el animal de la granja [el ah-nee-MAL de la GRAHN-yah]
the wild animal — el animal salvaje [el ah-nee-MAL sal-VAH-heh]
the sea creature — el animal marino [el ah-nee-MAL ma-REE-no]
the fur — el pelo [el PEH-lo]
the veterinarian — el veterinario [el veh-teh-ree-NAH-ree-oh] (masc.) / la veterinaria [la veh-teh-ree-NAH-ree-ah] (fem.)
Names of Animals In Spanish
the dog — el perro [el PEH-rro]
the cat — el gato [el GAH-toh]
the fish — el pez [el pehs]
the mouse — el ratón [el rah-TON]
the hamster — el hámster [el AHM-ster]
the rabbit — el conejo [el coh-NEH-hoh]
the rat — la rata [la RAH-tah]
the guinea pig — el conejillo de Indias [el coh-neh-HEE-yoh deh EEN-dee-as]
the chicken — la gallina [la gah-YEE-nah]
the cow — la vaca [la VAH-kah]
the pig — el cerdo [el SEHR-doh]
the sheep — la oveja [la oh-VEH-hah]
the goat — la cabra [la KAH-brah]
the donkey — el burro [el BOO-rro]
the horse — el caballo [el kah-BAH-yoh]
the elephant — el elefante [el eh-leh-FAHN-teh]
the camel — el camello [el kah-MEH-yoh]
the bird — el ave [el AH-veh]
the duck — el pato [el PAH-toh]
the goose — el ganso [el GAHN-soh]
the pigeon — la paloma [la pah-LOH-mah]
the penguin — el pingüino [el peen-GWEE-noh]
the parrot — el loro [el LOH-roh]
the owl — la lechuza [la leh-CHOO-sah]
the eagle — el águila [el AH-gee-lah]
the dolphin — el delfín [el del-FEEN]
the octopus — el pulpo [el POOL-poh]
the blue whale — la ballena azul [la bah-YEH-nah ah-SOOL]
the jellyfish — la medusa [la meh-DOO-sah]
the starfish — la estrella de mar [la eh-STREH-yah deh MAHR]
the shark — el tiburón [el tee-boh-RON]
the sea turtle — la tortuga marina [la tor-TOO-gah mah-REE-nah]
the bear — el oso [el OH-soh]
the wolf — el lobo [el LOH-boh]
the crocodile — el cocodrilo [el koh-koh-DREE-loh]
the snake — la serpiente [la sehr-PYEN-teh]
the kangaroo — el canguro [el kahn-GOO-roh]
the frog — la rana [la RAH-nah]
the squirrel — la ardilla [la ahr-DEE-yah]
the giraffe — la jirafa [la hee-RAH-fah]
the hippopotamus — el hipopótamo [el ee-poh-POH-tah-moh]
the sloth — el perezoso [el peh-reh-SOH-soh]
the deer — el corzo [el COR-soh]
the bug — el bicho [el BEE-choh]
the fly — la mosca [la MOS-kah]
the mosquito — el mosquito [el moh-SKEE-toh]
the spider — la araña [la ah-RAH-nyah]
the ant — la hormiga [la or-MEE-gah]
the bee — la abeja [la ah-BEH-hah]
the butterfly — la mariposa [la mah-ree-POH-sah]
the moth — la polilla [la poh-LEE-yah]
the cockroach — la cucaracha [la koo-kah-RAH-chah]
Animal Sounds In Spanish
woof — guau [GWAU]
meow — miau [MEE-aw]
quack quack — cuac cuac [KWAK KWAK]
moo — muu [MOO]
ribbit — croac [KRO-ak]
caw — cruaac [KROO-ak]
baa — be-e-e [BE-eh-eh]
cluck cluck — cro cro [KRO KRO]
cock-a-doodle-doo — quiquiriquí [kee-kee-ree-KEE]
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Dylan Lyons
Dylan is a senior content producer, overseeing video and podcast projects for the U.S. team. He studied journalism at Ithaca College and has an MBA from NYU. Before joining Babbel, Dylan managed social media for CBS News. His interests include reading, writing, politics, and anything sweet. Dylan lives in New York City.
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