Animals
Click the link to hear the pronunciation.
| 1 | doubutsu 動物 |
animals |
| 2 | buta 豚 |
pig |
| 3 | hitsuji 羊 |
sheep |
| 4 | inu 犬 |
dog |
| 5 | kaba かば（河馬） |
hippopotamus |
| 6 | kitsune 狐 |
fox |
| 7 | kirin きりん（麒麟） |
giraffe |
| 8 | kuma 熊 |
bear |
| 9 | neko 猫 |
cat |
| 10 | nezumi ねずみ（鼠） |
mouse |
| 11 | ookami 狼 |
wolf |
| 12 | raion ライオン |
lion |
| 13 | rakuda らくだ（駱駝） |
camel |
| 14 | risu りす（栗鼠） |
squirrel |
| 15 | saru 猿 |
monkey |
| 16 | shika 鹿 |
deer |
| 17 | shimauma しまうま（縞馬） |
zebra |
| 18 | tora 虎 |
tiger |
| 19 | tori 鳥 |
bird |
| 20 | usagi うさぎ（兎） |
rabbit |
| 21 | ushi 牛 |
cow, ox |
| 22 | uma 馬 |
horse |
| 23 | yagi やぎ（山羊） |
goat |
| 24 | zou 象 |
elephant |
Although there are kanji characters for (5) kaba, (7) kirin, (10) nezumi, (13) rakuda, (14) risu, (17) shimauma、(20) usagi and (23) yagi, they are normally written in hiragana or katakana.
The counter for small animals is "hiki（匹）" and for large animals is "tou（頭）".
| Inu ga go-hiki imasu. 犬が五匹います。 |
There are five dogs. |
| Watashi wa kuma
o ni-tou mimashita. 私は熊を二頭見ました。 |
I saw two bears |
Click here to learn vocabulary for birds.
Click here to learn about Japanese animal signs (zodiac).
Learn the kanji characters for "tori (bird)," "zou (elephant)," and "uma (horse)" through pictures.
