Animals in Korean: all 20 words
| Korean | Sounds like | English | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| 개 | gae | dog | |
| 고양이 | goyangi | cat | |
| 새 | sae | bird | |
| 물고기 | mulgogi | fishliving fish; fish as food is 생선 | |
| 소 | so | cow | |
| 돼지 | dwaeji | pig | |
| 말 | mal | horse | |
| 닭 | dak | chicken | |
| 토끼 | tokki | rabbit | |
| 호랑이 | horangi | tiger | |
| 곰 | gom | bear | |
| 원숭이 | wonsungi | monkey | |
| 코끼리 | kokkiri | elephant | |
| 사자 | saja | lion | |
| 뱀 | baem | snake | |
| 양 | yang | sheep | |
| 쥐 | jwi | mouse | |
| 오리 | ori | duck | |
| 거북이 | geobugi | turtle | |
| 기린 | girin | giraffe |
Good to know
Animal words are short and fun, which makes them a great first vocabulary set. Many are only one syllable: 개 (dog), 새 (bird), 소 (cow), 말 (horse), 곰 (bear) and 뱀 (snake).
The tiger, 호랑이, is Korea's national animal and shows up in folk tales, the 1988 Seoul Olympics mascot and the 2018 PyeongChang mascot. Animal names also come up with the Korean zodiac: people ask 무슨 띠예요? ("What's your zodiac animal?"), and the answer might be 토끼띠, rabbit year.
Want to practice typing these words? Play Hangul Rain with the animals words.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say "dog" and "puppy" in Korean?
Dog is 개 and puppy is 강아지. Many people call any pet dog 강아지 because it sounds friendlier.
What is the national animal of Korea?
The tiger, 호랑이. Korean stories often start with "back when tigers smoked" (호랑이 담배 피우던 시절), the Korean "once upon a time".
Romanization: Revised Romanization of Korean, with sound changes. Audio: a recorded native-sounding Korean voice.
Last checked: 2026-10-20