Animals in Japanese

In this Rocket Japanese lesson we’ll be taking a trip to the zoo to talk about all types of animals in Japanese!

You might have a dog or cat at home, but I bet you don’t have a monkey! You’ll have to take a tour to the local zoo or animal sanctuary while in Japan to see some of these furry creatures.

After this lesson you’ll be able to talk about the animals in your life and also about the more rare animals you don’t see every day.

Resources for further reading:

Perfect Your Japanese Pronunciation

What You Need to Know to Learn Japanese

Animals in Japanese

Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record

Rocket Record lets you perfect your Japanese pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!

いぬ

inu

dog

ねこ

neko

cat

とり

tori

bird

うま

uma

horse  

ポニー

ポニー

ponī

pony

うし

ushi

cow

ねずみ

nezumi

mouse / rat

さる

saru

monkey

ぶた

buta

pig

鹿

しか

shika

deer

ぞう

zou

elephant

キリン

キリン

kirin

giraffe

やぎ

やぎ

yagi

goat

おうし

おうし

oushi

ox

ゴリラ

ゴリラ

gorira

gorilla

動物

どうぶつ

dōbutsu

animal

動物園

どうぶつえん

dōbutsuen

zoo

How did you do? Did you notice that the animal names that sound the same in Japanese as they do in English are written in katakana? But don’t be fooled! You still need to practice, practice, practice to get the Japanese pronunciation right! Feel free to go through this lesson again and say the words out loud until you have the names of animals in Japanese perfected.

Here are a few recommended Japanese lessons to try next!

さようなら! (Sayōnara!)

Sayaka Matsuura: Rocket Japanese

Make It Stick With Rocket Reinforcement

Reinforce your learning from this lesson with the Rocket Reinforcement activities!