In English, one of the most common categories we see in daily life is animal names. Even if you have learned the animal names correctly, if you do not know the pronunciation properly, you may be misunderstood or you may not even understand anyone. The list below includes different species of animals like; pets, wild animals, farm animals, mammals, etc. By categorizing animals in this way, you can put them in your visual memory, and make them permanent in your brain. In addition to their names in English and meanings in Turkish, their pronunciations are based on British accent.
Animal Names, Meanings and Pronunciations
- Pets
We run into mostly these animal species in our daily lives. Both in houses and on the streets, we encounter with pets. Thus, even when you start practicing English for the first time, you will have some dialogues with native people including the names of the pets.
Dog: Köpek /dɒɡ/ dog
Puppy: Yavru köpek /ˈpʌp.i/ papi
Turtle: Kaplumbağa /ˈtɜː.təl/ törtle
Rabbit: Tavşan /ˈræb.ɪt/ rebit
Parrot: Papağan /ˈpær.ət/ perıt
Cat: Kedi /kæt/ ket
Kitten: Yavru kedi /ˈkɪt.ən/ kitın
Goldfish: Süs balığı /ˈɡəʊld.fɪʃ/ goldfiş
Mouse: Fare /maʊs/ maus
Hamster /ˈhæm.stər/ hemstır
- Farm Animals
The places that we encounter these animals are stores which differs from the pets’. You are in a supermarket in a foreign country and you need to buy a slice of cow meat. But the staff may not understand you if you say “kow” or “cow” instead of “kaaw”. At this very point, you should check the list we prepared that includes farm animals’ names and their pronounciations for you.
Cow: İnek /kaʊ/ kaav
Duck: Ördek /dʌk/ dak
Shrimp: Karides /ʃrɪmp/ şırimp
Pig: Domuz /pɪɡ/ pig
Goat: Keçi /ɡəʊt/ got
Crab: Yengeç /kræb/ kreb
Bee: Arı /biː/ bii
Sheep: Koyun /ʃiːp/ şiip
Fish: Balık /fɪʃ/ fiş
Turkey: Hindi /ˈtɜː.ki/ törkiy
Dove: Güvercin /dʌv/ dav
Chicken: Tavuk /ˈtʃɪk.ɪn/ çikın
Horse: At /hɔːs/ hors
- Birds
There might be hundreds of birds that we haven’t even heard of. But there are some birds that you want to adopt, and sometimes you just want to sit in front of them and have a chat. From parrot to sparrow, from pigeon to seagull… The fact that the birds make a notable part of our conversations is an inevitable truth. In fact, you want to start a conversation with your new foreign friend but you don’t know how to begin? You can start the conversation by telling them a different and interesting fact like, woodpecks can differentiate their other pecker friends from their voices.
Crow: Karga /krəʊ/ kraw
Peacock: Tavuskuşu /ˈpiː.kɒk/ pikak
Sparrow: Serçe /ˈspær.əʊ/ sparov
Pigeon: Güvercin /ˈpɪdʒ.ən/ picın
Hawk: Şahin /hɔːk/ howk
Bald eagle: Kel Kartal /ˌbɔːld ˈiː.ɡəl/ bold igıl
Parrot: Papağan /ˈpær.ət/ perıt
Flamingo /fləˈmɪŋ.ɡəʊ/ flamingo
Seagull: Martı /ˈsiː.ɡʌl/ sigall
Ostrich: Devekuşu /ˈɒs.trɪtʃ/ ostriç
Blackbird: Karatavuk /ˈblæk.bɜːd/ blek börd
Robin: Narbülbülü /ˈrɒb.ɪn/ robin
Swan: Kuğu /swɒn/ swen
Owl: Baykuş /aʊl/ awl
Woodpecker: Ağaçkakan /ˈwʊdˌpek.ər/ wudpekır
- Mammals
We can touch upon the category that we see the most on TV shows, movies, but most importantly on documentaries. The documentaries watched in native languages are always more enjoyable. And if you could reach a good the level İn English you can watch them without subtitles, there is nothing better than that feeling. Especially in documentaries, as they mention a lot of mammals, you should master the pronunciations after memorizing their meanings. You can reach the most common mammals’ list below.
Lion: Aslan /ˈlaɪ.ən/ layın
Panda /ˈpæn.də/ penda
Walrus: Denizayısı /ˈwɔːl.rəs/ wolrus
Otter: Su samuru /ˈɒt.ər/ ottır
Kangaroo: Kanguru /ˌkæŋ.ɡərˈuː/ kenguru
Monkey: Maymun /ˈmʌŋ.ki/ manki
Mole: köstebek /məʊl/ mol
Elephant: Fil /ˈel.ɪ.fənt/ elefınt
Giraffe: Zürafa /dʒɪˈrɑːf/ cireef
Fox: Tilki /fɒks/ foks
Hedgehog: Kirpi /ˈhedʒ.hɒɡ/ hechog
Deer: Geyik /dɪər/ diır
Ox: Öküz /ɒks/ ox
English Ninjas, in which you can practice English and get a certificate by taking online classes, not only introduces you with the people whose native language is English but also enables you to use it from any technological device. English Ninjas, which contains different vocabularies in itself and supports these with online videos, will be the biggest supporter of you in the way of learning English. English Ninjas is here for you to help with vocabulary, animal names and so on. Visit our website and test your English now!
- Wild Animals
Now it’s the turn of the other animal species we see the most in documentaries: wild animals. Learning especially these animals’ names is crucial. Because let’s assume that you are in a rural area, and your friend is warning you against a snake. In this situation, if you don’t know the pronunciation, it can be deadly. In the same way, if your friends yell at you “Bear” (beır) and you confuse it with “Beer” (biır), it can end tragically either.
Camel: Deve /ˈkæm.əl/ kemıl
Starfish: Denizyıldızı /ˈstɑː.fɪʃ/ starfiş
Alligator: Timsah /ˈæl.ɪ.ɡeɪ.tər/ elegeytır
Tiger: Kaplan /ˈtaɪ.ɡər/ taygır
Bear: Ayı /beər/ beır
Raccoon: Rakun /rækˈuːn/ rakuun
Crocodile: Timsah /ˈkrɒk.ə.daɪl/ krokodayl
Dolphin: Balina /ˈdɒl.fɪn/ dolfin
Snake: Yılan /sneɪk/ snek
Elk: Kanada Geyiği /elk/ elk
Gorilla: Goril /ɡəˈrɪl.ə/ gorilla
Bat: Yarasa /bæt/ bet
Hare: Yabani tavşan /heər/ her
Toad: Karakurbağası /təʊd/ tod
Frog: Kurbağa /frɒɡ/ frog
Rat: Sıçan /ræt/ ret
Badger: Porsuk /ˈbædʒ.ər/ becır
Lizard: Kertenkele /ˈlɪz.əd/ lizırd
Whether it is in a documentary or it is in our daily lives, animals’ names consist of most of our daily conversations as long as we live. From the kind of meat you eat, to the milk you want to drink. At this point, to behave wiser, to differentiate the wrong from the correct, not to think like “What was the meaning of that?”, you should thoroughly keep this list on your mind. And for the other words we often encounter in daily life, don’t forget to check out the archive of English Ninjas.