Animals in Spanish and French
Animal names have one fixed gender whatever the sex of the animal, which surprises English speakers: a male giraffe is still la jirafa and la girafe.
The words
| Picture | English | Spanish | French |
|---|---|---|---|
| dog | el perro | le chien | |
| cat | el gato | le chat | |
| bird | el pájaro | l'oiseau | |
| fish | el pez | le poisson | |
| rabbit | el conejo | le lapin | |
| horse | el caballo | le cheval | |
| cow | la vaca | la vache | |
| pig | el cerdo | le cochon | |
| sheep | la oveja | le mouton | |
| hen, chicken | la gallina | la poule | |
| duck | el pato | le canard | |
| mouse | el ratón | la souris | |
| lion | el león | le lion | |
| tiger | el tigre | le tigre | |
| elephant | el elefante | l'éléphant | |
| monkey | el mono | le singe | |
| giraffe | la jirafa | la girafe | |
| bear | el oso | l'ours | |
| snake | la serpiente | le serpent | |
| turtle, tortoise | la tortuga | la tortue | |
| frog | la rana | · | |
| zebra | la cebra | le zèbre | |
| hamster | · | le hamster | |
| goat | · | la chèvre | |
| wolf | · | le loup |
Where two forms are given, both are standard in different regions and both are marked right on the answer keys. Every word is checked in two dictionaries: how we check. Pictures: OpenMoji, CC BY-SA 4.0, and Language Sheets.
Make a worksheet: animals
Word search, bingo, crossword, matching or flashcards, with a separate answer key.
Spanish: la jirafa, el pez
Many animal nouns are fixed: la jirafa, la serpiente, la tortuga are feminine for both sexes. Some pairs exist: el gato, la gata.
El pez is the live fish; el pescado is fish as food. Plural: los peces.
French: la souris, l'éléphant
Genders to learn: la souris, la girafe, la tortue are feminine; le serpent, l'éléphant are masculine.
Irregular plurals: le cheval, les chevaux; l'oiseau, les oiseaux.
In the classroom
Animals is the topic with the most pictures, so it is the best place for picture matching, picture bingo and flashcards with younger classes. Animal word searches are among the most searched-for sheets of all.