Animals in Russian: word list with pictures
60 words · tap 🔊 to hear each one in Russian.
| Picture | English | Russian | Say it | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Cow | Корова | Korova | |
 | Bull | Бык | Byk | |
 | Buffalo | Буйвол | Buyvol | |
 | Goat | Коза | Koza | |
 | Sheep | Овца | Ovtsa | |
 | Horse | Лошадь | Loshad | |
 | Donkey | Ослик | Oslik | |
 | Camel | Верблюд | Verblyud | |
 | Pig | Свинья | Svinya | |
 | Yak | Як | Yak | |
 | Dog | Собака | Sobaka | |
 | Cat | Кошка | Koshka | |
 | Rabbit | Кролик | Krolik | |
 | Hamster | Хомяк | Khomyak | |
 | Mouse | Мышка | Myshka | |
 | Elephant | Слон | Slon | |
 | Lion | Лев | Lev | |
 | Tiger | Тигр | Tigr | |
 | Leopard | Леопард | Leopard | |
 | Bear | Медведь | Medved | |
 | Monkey | Обезьяна | Obezyana | |
 | Gorilla | Горилла | Gorilla | |
 | Orangutan | Орангутан | Orangutan | |
 | Deer | Олень | Olen | |
 | Zebra | Зебра | Zebra | |
 | Giraffe | Жираф | Zhiraf | |
 | Hippo | Бегемот | Begemot | |
 | Rhino | Носорог | Nosorog | |
 | Fox | Лиса | Lisa | |
 | Wolf | Волк | Volk | |
 | Jackal | Шакал | Shakal | |
 | Squirrel | Белка | Belka | |
 | Mongoose | Мангуст | Mangust | |
 | Porcupine | Дикобраз | Dikobraz | |
 | Hedgehog | Ёжик | Yozhik | |
 | Kangaroo | Кенгуру | Kenguru | |
 | Koala | Коала | Koala | |
 | Panda | Панда | Panda | |
 | Polar Bear | Белый медведь | Belyy medved | |
 | Sloth | Ленивец | Lenivets | |
 | Bat | Летучая мышь | Letuchaya mysh | |
 | Wild Boar | Кабан | Kaban | |
 | Indian Bison | Гаур | Gaur | |
 | Rat | Крыса | Krysa | |
 | Fish | Рыбка | Rybka | |
 | Goldfish | Золотая рыбка | Zolotaya rybka | |
 | Frog | Лягушка | Lyagushka | |
 | Whale | Кит | Kit | |
 | Dolphin | Дельфин | Delfin | |
 | Shark | Акула | Akula | |
 | Octopus | Осьминог | Osminog | |
 | Crab | Краб | Krab | |
 | Prawn | Креветка | Krevetka | |
 | Squid | Кальмар | Kalmar | |
 | Seal | Тюлень | Tyulen | |
 | Jellyfish | Медуза | Meduza | |
 | Pufferfish | Рыба-ёж | Ryba-yozh | |
 | Otter | Выдра | Vydra | |
 | Starfish | Морская звезда | Morskaya zvezda | |
 | Seahorse | Морской конёк | Morskoy konyok |
Animals in Russian are a favourite first topic, because Russian children grow up with animals in every fairy tale, rhyme and cartoon. This page has 60 animals with pictures and clear audio: farm animals like корова (cow) and лошадь (horse), pets such as собака (dog) and кошка (cat), wild animals from медведь (bear) to жираф (giraffe), and sea animals including кит (whale) and осьминог (octopus). Tap a picture to hear the Russian name, then the English one.
Farm animals and pets in Russian
Домашние животные (domestic animals) are the first words most toddlers learn: корова, бык, коза, овца, лошадь, свинья, ослик. Pets follow: собака, кошка, кролик, хомяк, мышка. Point out that some names on the cards are small, loving forms: ослик is "little donkey", мышка is "little mouse" and ёжик is "little hedgehog". Russian uses these diminutive endings (-ик, -ка, -ок) all the time with children, so your child will hear котик and собачка from grandparents too.
Forest and wild animals in Russian
The Russian forest animals from fairy tales are all here. In Колобок, the round bun meets заяц (hare), волк (wolf), медведь (bear) and finally the clever лиса (fox). On our cards you will find the wolf, bear and fox, plus белка (squirrel), ёжик (hedgehog), олень (deer) and кабан (wild boar). Tell the Kolobok story, and each time a new animal appears, let your child find its picture.
Zoo animals are often close to English, which gives quick wins: тигр, леопард, зебра, жираф, горилла, коала, панда, кенгуру. Others are new: слон (elephant), обезьяна (monkey), бегемот (hippo), носорог (rhino, literally "nose-horn") and ленивец (sloth, "the lazy one").
Sea and water animals in Russian
Морские животные include кит (whale), дельфин (dolphin), акула (shark), краб, медуза (jellyfish), тюлень (seal) and кальмар (squid). Two names describe the animal beautifully: морская звезда is "sea star" and морской конёк is "little sea horse". The pufferfish is рыба-ёж, "hedgehog fish", which makes children laugh when they see the spiky picture.
Animal sounds in Russian
Russian animals "speak" a little differently. A dog says гав-гав, a cat мяу, a cow му-у, a pig хрю-хрю, a duck кря-кря, a rooster кукареку and a frog ква-ква. Ask "Как говорит собачка?" ("How does the doggy talk?") and wait for the answer. Then compare with English in our animal sounds game.
Why animals are "he" or "she" in Russian
Every Russian noun has a gender, which you can often hear from the ending. Words ending in a consonant, like кот, слон, волк, are usually masculine; words ending in -а or -я, like корова, лиса, белка, are usually feminine. Some animals have a pair: кот / кошка, лев / львица. Toddlers do not need rules. Just say full little sentences: "Вот лиса. Она рыжая!" ("Here is the fox. She is ginger!")
How to teach animal names in Russian at home
- Five at a time. Pick five animals, play Listen for two minutes, then Find it.
- Toy box. Line up toy animals and ask "Где медведь?" ("Where is the bear?").
- Act it out. Hop like a заяц, stomp like a слон, waddle like an утка.
- Story time. Read Теремок or Колобок and point at each animal.
- Letter link. Many animals are on the Russian alphabet cards: В – волк, Л – лев, С – слон.
Worksheet idea: print this page from your browser and cut out the word list pictures for a matching game. There is no PDF, but the page prints cleanly.
A 2-3 year old may learn 5-10 animal names, mostly pets and farm animals. At 3-4, children name 15-20 and enjoy sorting them into forest, farm and sea. At 5-6, they can read short names like кот, лев, кит, волк. For English and Hindi animal names see animals name in English, and Ukrainian-speaking families can compare with animals in Ukrainian (the cat is кіт there).
Tips for bilingual families
Animal books and toys are an easy way to keep Russian going outside Russian-speaking countries. Keep a small shelf of Russian picture books and read one at bedtime. On video calls, grandparents can show a pet or a toy animal and ask your child to name it.
Животные для детей с картинками
На этой странице 60 животных с картинками и звуком: домашние животные, дикие животные леса и саванны и морские обитатели. Нажмите на картинку, и ребёнок услышит название по-русски и по-английски.
Читайте вместе сказки «Колобок», «Теремок» и «Репка», изображайте животных и повторяйте их голоса: гав-гав, мяу, му-у. Так новые слова запоминаются легко и весело.
How to use this page at home
Say it, then find it
Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: russian words on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.
Ten minutes is enough
Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.
Use both languages
Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.
