Animal Vocabulary in French

Domestic Animals

French Term	English Translation	Description
Le chat	The cat	Small domestic animal that meows and purrs
Le chien	The dog	Faithful animal that barks and guards the house
Le poisson rouge	The goldfish	Small orange aquarium fish
Le hamster	The hamster	Small rodent that lives in a cage
Le lapin	The rabbit	Animal with long ears that eats carrots
Le perroquet	The parrot	Colorful bird that can imitate human speech
La tortue	The turtle	Slow reptile with a protective shell
Le cochon d'Inde	The guinea pig	Small gentle and sociable rodent

French Term	English Translation	Description
La vache	The cow	Large animal that produces milk and says "moo"
Le cochon	The pig	Pink animal that grunts and likes mud
Le mouton	The sheep	Animal with wool that bleats
La chèvre	The goat	Animal that climbs and produces milk
Le cheval	The horse	Large animal you can ride that neighs
La poule	The hen	Farm bird that lays eggs
Le canard	The duck	Aquatic bird that quacks
L'âne	The donkey	Stubborn animal that carries loads

French Term	English Translation	Description
Le lion	The lion	Large feline, king of the savanna, that roars
L'éléphant	The elephant	Huge animal with a trunk and large ears
Le tigre	The tiger	Large striped feline, excellent hunter
Le singe	The monkey	Intelligent animal that lives in trees
La girafe	The giraffe	Animal with a very long neck and spots
Le zèbre	The zebra	Black and white striped savanna animal
L'ours	The bear	Large powerful animal that hibernates in winter
Le loup	The wolf	Wild animal that lives in packs and howls
Le renard	The fox	Cunning animal with a bushy tail
Le cerf	The deer	Elegant animal with large antlers

French Term	English Translation	Description
L'oiseau	The bird	Feathered animal that flies and sings
L'aigle	The eagle	Large majestic bird of prey with a hooked beak
Le hibou	The owl	Nocturnal bird that hoots
Le pigeon	The pigeon	Common city bird that coos
Le corbeau	The crow	Large intelligent black bird
La mouette	The seagull	White and gray seabird
Le moineau	The sparrow	Small very common brown bird

French Term	English Translation	Description
Le poisson	The fish	Aquatic animal that breathes through gills
Le requin	The shark	Large predatory fish with sharp teeth
La baleine	The whale	Huge marine mammal that spouts water
Le dauphin	The dolphin	Intelligent and playful marine mammal
La pieuvre	The octopus	Marine animal with eight tentacles
Le crabe	The crab	Crustacean with claws that walks sideways
La méduse	The jellyfish	Transparent marine animal that can sting

Avoir une faim de loup - To be as hungry as a wolf (very hungry)
Être têtu comme une mule - To be as stubborn as a mule (very obstinate)
Dormir comme un loir - To sleep like a dormouse (sleep deeply)
Avoir une mémoire d'éléphant - To have a memory like an elephant (excellent memory)
Être rusé comme un renard - To be as cunning as a fox (very clever)
Avoir des fourmis dans les jambes - To have ants in one's pants (tingling sensation, restless)
Poser un lapin à quelqu'un - To stand someone up (not show up for an appointment)
Être doux comme un agneau - To be as gentle as a lamb (very kind and calm)
Avoir le cafard - To have the blues (be sad, depressed)
Être fier comme un coq - To be as proud as a peacock (very proud)