Updated January 21, 2026 with newly added audio — Lesson written by French teacher David Issokson for students who want to learn French online, with native audio by Marie Assel Cambier, a voice artist from France.
This list covers 100+ animal names in French, with native-speaker audio to help you hear correct pronunciation. The vocabulary is clearly organized by category, including pets, farm animals, forest animals, sea animals, reptiles, and insects.
les animaux (animals), un chien (dog), un chat (cat), un oiseau (bird), un cheval (horse), une vache (cow), un poisson (fish), un lion (lion), un ours (bear), un serpent (snake)
✅ Farm animals
✅ Forest animals
✅ Sea animals
✅ Zoo animals
✅ Reptiles
Pets – Les Animaux Domestiques
When talking about dogs and cats, it is important to get the gender right. A male dog is un chien, and a female dog is une chienne. The same goes for cats: a male cat is un chat, and a female cat is une chatte.
Interestingly, there is no gender distinction for puppies and kittens. Both words are masculine. A puppy is un chiot, and a kitten is un chaton.
- un oiseau bird
- un chat cat
- un chien dog
- un poisson rouge goldfish
- un hamster hamster
- un chaton kitten
- une perruche parakeet
- un chiot puppy
Farm animals – Les animaux de la ferme
For farm animals, the word for chicken can cause a bit of confusion. When talking about the living animal, a rooster is un coq, and a female chicken is une poule. The cooked bird that you eat is called le poulet.
There are also different words for a living pig and for pork. The living animal is called un cochon (or une cochonne in the feminine form), while the meat is called le porc.
les animaux de la ferme (farm animals), une vache (cow), un cheval (horse), un cochon (pig), un mouton (sheep), une poule (hen)
More farm animals vocabulary appears below for reference.
- un bouc billy goat
- un sanglier boar
- un taureau bull
- une poule chicken, hen
- une vache cow
- un âne donkey
- un canard duck
- une brebis ewe
- une truie female pig
- une chèvre goat
- un cheval horse
- un agneau lamb
- une jument mare
- un bœuf ox
- un cochon pig
- un poney pony
- un lapin rabbit
- un bélier ram
- un coq rooster
- un mouton sheep
- une dinde turkey
Forest animals – les animaux de la forêt
The words for big game animals can cause a bit of confusion. For deer, a male deer is un cerf, and a female deer is une biche. There are also different words for moose. In Europe, a moose is called un élan, while in Canada it is called un orignal.
Interestingly, for the word for bear (un ours), both the -r and the -s are pronounced. One last note on forest animals: the word for owl is une chouette. Interestingly, c’est chouette ! means “it’s nice!” or “it’s great!”
les animaux de la forêt (forest animals), un ours (bear), un cerf (deer), un renard (fox), un loup (wolf), un écureuil (squirrel)
More forest animals vocabulary appears below for reference.
- une chauve-souris bat
- un ours bear
- un castor beaver
- un cerf deer
- un renard fox
- un lièvre hare
- une souris mouse
- une chouette owl
- un raton laveur raccoon
- un rat rat
- un écureuil squirrel
- un loup wolf
Sea animals – les animaux de la mer
French vocabulary for fish and sea animals can be a bit challenging, as many of the words are quite different from English. There is one big exception: un crabe means “a crab.”
Three kinds of fish that are commonly eaten have names that are close to English: le thon (tuna), le saumon (salmon), and la truite (trout). The word for haddock, however, is very different: l’aiglefin.
les animaux de la mer (sea animals), un poisson (fish), un dauphin (dolphin), un requin (shark), une baleine (whale), une pieuvre (octopus)
More sea animals vocabulary appears below for reference.
- un poisson-chat catfish
- un crabe crab
- un dauphin dolphin
- une anguille eel
- un poisson fish
- une méduse jellyfish
- une lamproie lamprey
- un homard lobster
- un lamantin manatee
- une moule mussel
- une pieuvre octopus
- un orque orca
- une huître oyster
- un manchot penguin
- un brochet pike
- un saumon salmon
- une sardine sardine
- un lion de mer sea lion
- un phoque seal
- un requin shark
- un coquillage shellfish
- une pastenague stingray
- une truite trout
- un morse walrus
- une baleine whale
Zoo animals – les animaux du zoo
The words for many zoo animals are quite easy, as they are very similar to English. One notable exception is the word for monkey: un singe.
The word for gorilla is interesting because, with its -ille spelling, you might expect it to be feminine. However, it is un gorille. The words for kangaroo and orangutan come from other languages and are therefore masculine: un kangourou and un orang-outang.
les animaux du zoo (zoo animals), un lion (lion), un éléphant (elephant), une girafe (giraffe), un singe (monkey), un tigre (tiger)
More zoo animals vocabulary appears below for reference.
- un chameau camel
- un guépard cheetah
- un éléphant elephant
- un grand panda giant panda
- une girafe giraffe
- un hippopotame hippopotamus
- un jaguar jaguar
- un kangourou kangaroo
- un lion lion
- un singe monkey
- un orang-outang orangutan
- un panda panda
- une panthère panther
- un ours polaire polar bear
- un rhinocéros rhinoceros
- un tigre tiger
- un zèbre zebra
Reptiles
Reptile words are almost all based on their Latin names and are therefore very similar to their English equivalents. The biggest exception is the word for toad: un crapaud. The French word for snake is un serpent. In English, the word serpent is a synonym for snake.
les reptiles (reptiles), un serpent (snake), un crocodile (crocodile), un lézard (lizard), une tortue (turtle), un caméléon (chameleon)
More reptiles vocabulary appears below for reference.
- un alligator alligator
- un crocodile crocodile
- une grenouille frog
- un lézard lizard
- un serpent snake
- un crapaud toad
- une tortue turtle
Insects
The following list also includes some creatures that are not strictly insects but are commonly grouped into this category. Interestingly, there is no single, specific word for moth in French.
The word for butterfly is un papillon. The word for moth is un papillon de nuit, which literally translates to “a butterfly of the night.”
les insectes (insects), une fourmi (ant), une abeille (bee), un papillon (butterfly), une mouche (fly), un moustique (mosquito)
More insects vocabulary appears below for reference.
- une fourmi ant
- une abeille bee
- un papillon butterfly
- une chenille caterpillar
- un cafard cockroach
- un cricket cricket
- une libellule dragonfly
- une puce flea
- une mouche fly
- une coccinelle ladybug
- un moustique mosquito
- un papillon de nuit moth
- une araignée spider
- un ver worm
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French Animal Names — Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
What are common animal names in French?
Common animal names in French include un chien (dog), un chat (cat), un oiseau (bird), un cheval (horse), une vache (cow), un poisson (fish), un lion (lion), and un ours (bear).
How are French animal words organized?
Animal vocabulary in French is often grouped by category, such as pets, farm animals, forest animals, sea animals, reptiles, and insects, which makes learning and review easier.
Do French animal names have gender?
Yes. All French animal names have grammatical gender. In some cases, different words are used for male and female animals, such as un chien / une chienne or un chat / une chatte.
Are French animal words similar to English?
Many French animal words are similar to English, especially for zoo animals. However, some common animals have very different names, such as un singe (monkey) or un crapaud (toad).
Who wrote this lesson and does it include audio?
This lesson was written by French teacher David Issokson, founder of FrenchLearner.com, and includes native-speaker audio recorded by Marie Assel Cambier, a professional voice artist and native French speaker.
