Animals in Japanese: names, kanji and sounds
犬 and 猫 are among the first words you learn, and animals turn up everywhere: in dish names, in proverbs, in temple statues, in city mascots.
Here are the animals in groups, with kanji, reading and rōmaji: pets and farm animals, animals typical of Japan, zoo animals written in katakana, and insects. And at the end the animal sounds, which in Japanese sound nothing like ours.
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Pets and farm animals
Almost all of them have a simple kanji: they are among the first you will see.
| 日本語 | Kana | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 犬 | いぬ | inu | dog |
| 猫 | ねこ | neko | cat |
| うさぎ | — | usagi | rabbit |
| 鳥 | とり | tori | bird |
| 金魚 | きんぎょ | kingyo | goldfish |
| 馬 | うま | uma | horse |
| 牛 | うし | ushi | cow, ox |
| 豚 | ぶた | buta | pig |
| 羊 | ひつじ | hitsuji | sheep |
| 鶏 | にわとり | niwatori | chicken |
Animals of Japan
Foxes, tanuki, deer and cranes are everywhere in folklore and at shrines: knowing them explains half the statues you will see.
| 日本語 | Kana | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 狐 | きつね | kitsune | fox |
| 狸 | たぬき | tanuki | tanuki (raccoon dog) |
| 鹿 | しか | shika | deer |
| 猿 | さる | saru | monkey |
| 熊 | くま | kuma | bear |
| 鶴 | つる | tsuru | crane |
| 鯉 | こい | koi | koi carp |
| 亀 | かめ | kame | turtle |
At the zoo
Foreign animals arrive with their foreign name, written in katakana. Elephant and tiger are exceptions, with an old kanji of their own.
| 日本語 | Kana | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 象 | ぞう | zō | elephant |
| 虎 | とら | tora | tiger |
| ライオン | — | raion | lion |
| キリン | — | kirin | giraffe |
| パンダ | — | panda | panda |
| ペンギン | — | pengin | penguin |
| ゴリラ | — | gorira | gorilla |
Insects and small creatures
In summer you will hear them before you see them: the buzz of cicadas is the sound of the Japanese summer.
| 日本語 | Kana | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 虫 | むし | mushi | insect, bug |
| 蝶 | ちょう | chō | butterfly |
| 蝉 | せみ | semi | cicada |
| 蚊 | か | ka | mosquito |
| 蜂 | はち | hachi | bee |
| 蜘蛛 | くも | kumo | spider |
Animal sounds
In Japanese, animal sounds are real words, written in katakana and often doubled. A dog does not say “woof”, it says ワンワン.
| 日本語 | Rōmaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ワンワン | wan wan | dog |
| ニャーニャー | nyā nyā | cat |
| チュンチュン | chun chun | sparrow |
| モーモー | mō mō | cow |
| ブーブー | bū bū | pig |
| メーメー | mē mē | sheep |
| ヒヒーン | hihīn | horse |
| コケコッコー | kokekokkō | rooster |
| カーカー | kā kā | crow |
| ケロケロ | kero kero | frog |
Kanji, hiragana or katakana?
Almost every animal has a kanji (犬, 猫, 馬), but you will also see them in katakana: イヌ, ネコ. That is the convention in biology, on zoo signs and in many children's books. Some, like うさぎ, are usually written in hiragana because the kanji (兎) is rare; foreign animals like the giraffe only have katakana.
ワンちゃん and 猫ちゃん: the affectionate names
The sounds become names too: children call a dog ワンワン, and adults say ワンちゃん, “doggy”. For cats you hear にゃんこ or 猫ちゃん. With a verb, the sound describes the action: 犬がワンワン鳴いている, “the dog is barking”.
Foxes, tanuki and waving cats
The fox is the messenger of the deity Inari, and Inari shrines are full of them. The ceramic tanuki, with its hat and sake bottle, brings luck outside restaurants and shops. The 招き猫 (maneki neko) raises its paw to beckon customers; paper cranes (千羽鶴, a thousand cranes) are folded as a wish for recovery, and around May 5 fabric carp streamers (鯉のぼり) fly over houses.
The counter changes with the animal
To count animals the numbers alone are not enough: 匹 (hiki) for small and medium animals, 頭 (tō) for large ones like cows and elephants, 羽 (wa) for birds. The reading of 匹 changes with the number: いっぴき, にひき, さんびき.
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Frequently asked questions
Dog is 犬 (inu), cat is 猫 (neko). Affectionately, people say ワンちゃん (wanchan) for a dog and 猫ちゃん (nekochan) for a cat.
ワンワン (wan wan). A cat says ニャー (nyā), a cow モー (mō), a pig ブーブー (bū bū) and a rooster コケコッコー (kokekokkō).
Because it is the convention in biology and on signs: at the zoo you will read ゾウ and トラ even though they have kanji. Animals of foreign origin, like キリン or ペンギン, only have a katakana name.
A real animal, the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), a relative of the fox. In folklore it is a mischievous shape-shifter, and it is often mistranslated as “raccoon” or “badger”.
With counters: 匹 (hiki) for small and medium animals, 頭 (tō) for large ones, 羽 (wa) for birds. Two cats: 猫が二匹 (neko ga nihiki).