There are kanji characters for hippopotamus （河馬）, giraffe （麒麟）, mouse （鼠）, camel （駱駝）, squirrel （栗鼠）, zebra （縞馬）, rabbit （兎） and goat （山羊）, but they are often 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 the link to hear the pronunciation.
| doubutsu 動物 | animals |
| buta 豚 | pig |
| hitsuji 羊 | sheep |
| inu 犬 | dog |
| kaba かば | hippopotamus |
| kitsune 狐 | fox |
| kirin キリン | giraffe |
| kuma 熊 | bear |
| neko 猫 | cat |
| nezumi ねずみ | mouse |
| ookami 狼 | wolf |
| raion ライオン | lion |
| rakuda らくだ | camel |
| risu りす | squirrel |
| saru 猿 | monkey |
| shika 鹿 | deer |
| shimauma しまうま | zebra |
| tora 虎 | tiger |
| tori 鳥 | bird |
| usagi うさぎ | rabbit |
| ushi 牛 | cow/ox |
| uma 馬 | horse |
| yagi やぎ | goat |
| zou 象 | elephant |
