Hey everyone! Do you know how to say dog, cat, monkey, and bear in Portuguese? Hmm… what about fish, cow, and turtle in Portuguese? And if we talk about insects or birds it gets more complicated, yeah? So, today we will help you out by teaching the names of animals in Portuguese! Remember that some names of animals in Portuguese vary according to their gender. First, let’s see a list of the animals that have both masculine and feminine versions of the word. Take a look at some of them:
List of Animals with Gender in Portuguese
| Male | Female | Translation | Pronunciation |
| O cachorro | A cachorra | Dog / Bitch | |
| O gato | A gata | Cat | |
| O coelho | A coelha | Rabbit (Buck / Doe) | |
| O galo | A galinha | Cockerel / Hen | |
| O porco | A porca | Pig / Sow | |
| O boi | A vaca | Bull / Cow | |
| O carneiro | A ovelha | Sheep (Ram / Ewe) | |
| O cavalo | A égua | Horse (Stallion / Mare) | |
| O leão | A leoa | Lion / Lioness | |
| O elefante | A elefanta | Elephant | |
| O macaco | A macaca | Monkey | |
| O urso | A ursa | Bear | |
| O rato | A rata | Mouse | |
| O sapo | A rã | Toad / Frog | |
| O lobo | A loba | Wolf | |
| O tigre | A tigresa | Tiger / Tigeress |
Other Animals Without Gender in Portuguese
There are also some animals that, despite being male or female, have only one written gender. Let’s see this list of animals in Portuguese:
| O pássaro | Bird | |
| O peixe | Fish | |
| A zebra | Zebra | |
| A girafa | Giraffe |
|
| A onça | Jaguar | |
| O crocodilo | Crocodile | |
| A tartaruga | Turtle | |
| O polvo | Octopus | |
| A coruja | Owl | |
| A cobra | Snake | |
| O caracol | Snail | |
| A baleia | Whale |
In these cases, if you want to say the names of animals in Portuguese and specify if it’s a male or a female, you use the name just learned, plus the gender; for which, you are going to use the words Macho and Fêmea in Portuguese.
Examples for Gender of Animals in Portuguese
O polvo macho e o polvo fêmea.
The male octopus and the female octopus.
A coruja macho e a coruja fêmea.
The male owl and the female owl.
Notice that, despite the gender, we are going to use the articles “O” and “A” according to the name of the animal.
Cat in Portuguese
Have you ever seen a cat on Copacabana Beach? Is this a weird question for you? Let us explain! When you think that a man is handsome or a woman is pretty you can call him a gato and her a gata. Also, if you have a partner, a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, you can call them gatinho or gatinha (kitten). That’s a common nickname we have in Brazil. So now you know cat in Portuguese is something else other than just the animal!
Dog in Portuguese
It’s a universal knowledge that the dog is the man’s best friend but there is something about the word cachorro that you may not know. This is not something that you would learn from self-study. However, if you study Portuguese in Brazil, you will learn that the word dog (like many other words!) also has another meaning:
- When you call a man a cachorro means he is a player. He likes flirting with lots of people.
- Calling a woman a cachorra is very offensive. It’s the same as calling her a slut.
How sexist is society sometimes, right? Of course, you are not going out calling people dog in Portuguese!
Fish in Portuguese
Besides being healthy, eating fish is also delicious and here in Brazil, you will find different fishy dishes. There are many types of fish and they have different names in Portuguese. Check out our Dica about Fish in Portuguese to discover all about the best fish to eat here.

Monkey in Portuguese
Have you ever wondered which country has the most species of monkeys? If you thought about Brazil, then you are right! Did you know that there are at least 102 different species of primates in Brazil? Those extraordinary intelligent and agile animals enrich our fauna and are extremely important to our country. What about learning how to pronounce in Portuguese the names of some of them? Don’t want to pagar um mico next time you get to see them close? Let’s memorize how the Brazilians call the different kinds of monkeys in Portuguese! 😛
| Os Primatas | Primates | |
| O Macaco / A Macaca | Monkey or Ape | |
| O Gorila macho / O Gorila fêmea | Gorilla | |
| O Chimpanzé macho / O Chimpanzé fêmea | Chimpanzee | |
| O Sagui macho / O Sagui fêmea | Marmoset | |
| O Babuíno macho / O Babuíno fêmea | Baboon | |
| O Mico macho / O Mico fêmea | Tamarins |

Birds in Portuguese
Birds are one of the main groups of the animal reign, but how we say the main birds in Portuguese? See the article at the beginning to know if the word is masculine or feminine:
| O pardal | The sparrow | |
| A águia | The eagle | |
| O pinguim | The penguin | |
| O beija-flor | The hummingbird | |
| A coruja | The owl | |
| O papagaio | The parrot | |
| A galinha | The hen | |
| O galo | The rooster | |
| O tucano | The toucan | |
| A andorinha | The swallow | |
| O falcão | The falcon | |
| O pelicano | The pelican | |
| A gaivota | The seagull | |
| O canário | The canary | |
| A pomba / O pombo | The dove | |
| O cisne | The swan | |
| A garça | The heron | |
| O pavão | The peacock | |
| A cotovia | The lark | |
| O sabiá | The thrush |

Examples for Birds in Portuguese
Let’s see some examples that will help you to understand and remember each word easier:
- O pardal está cantando na árvore. (The sparrow is singing in the tree.)
- A águia voa alto no céu. (The eagle flies high in the sky.)
- O pinguim anda de forma engraçada. (The penguin walks in a funny way.)
- O beija-flor está sugando néctar da flor. (The hummingbird is sipping nectar from the flower.)
- A coruja é conhecida por sua sabedoria. (The owl is known for its wisdom.)
- O papagaio repete o que as pessoas dizem. (The parrot repeats what people say.)
- A galinha botou um ovo. (The hen laid an egg.)
- O galo canta ao amanhecer. (The rooster crows at dawn.)
- O tucano tem um bico colorido. (The toucan has a colorful beak.)
- A andorinha voltou para o seu ninho. (The swallow returned to its nest.)
Cow in Portuguese
We already saw different farm animals in Portuguese! But, cows can be a tricky one. When we talk about cows in Portuguese, we have different ways and words depending on the age, sex, and other factors. To help you better let’s explain a little bit about each word:
- A vaca (feminine): It is the generic word we use in Portuguese. If you want to specify it refers to the adult female.
- Exemplo: A vaca está pastando no campo. (The cow is grazing in the field.)
- Exemplo: A vaca está pastando no campo. (The cow is grazing in the field.)
- O touro (masculine): Refers to the adult male.
- Exemplo: O touro é muito forte. (The bull is very strong.)
- Exemplo: O touro é muito forte. (The bull is very strong.)
- O boi (masculine): the castrated male, it is used for meat or in the past to help to work in the countryside.
- Exemplo: O boi puxa o arado. (The ox pulls the plow.)
- Exemplo: O boi puxa o arado. (The ox pulls the plow.)
- O bezerro (masculine) / A bezerra (feminine): the youngest cow, the calf.
- Exemplo Masculino: O bezerro correu para a mãe. (The calf ran to its mother.)
- Exemplo Feminino: A bezerra é muito fofa. (The female calf is very cute.)
- O novilho (masculine) / A novilha (feminine): when the bezerro grows up and has between one to three years.
- Exemplo Masculino: O novilho está crescendo rápido. (The young bull is growing fast.)
- Exemplo Feminino: A novilha será uma boa vaca leiteira. (The heifer will be a good dairy cow.)
See all the cow in Portuguese cases that we saw and practice its pronunciation!:
| O gado | The cattle | |
| A vaca | The cow | |
| O touro | The bull | |
| O boi | The ox | |
| O bezerro | The calf (male) | |
| A bezerrinha | The calf (female) | |
| O novilho | The young bull | |
| A novilha | The heifer |
Insects in Portuguese
Let’s not forget our smallest friends, let’s learn about bugs and insects in Portuguese. For insects and bugs we never use masculine and feminine depending on the gender, so you will need to learn which of our little friends are masculine or feminine looking at the previous article:
| O besouro | beetle | |
| A abelha | bee | |
| O gafanhoto | grasshopper | |
| O grilo | cricket | |
| A formiga | ant | |
| A joaninha | ladybug | |
| O louva-a-deus | praying mantis | |
| A vespa | wasp | |
| A mosca | fly | |
| O mosquito | mosquito | |
| A libélula | dragonfly | |
| O percevejo | stink bug | |
| A pulga | flea | |
| O piolho | louse | |
| O cupim | termite | |
| A barata | cockroach | |
| A aranha | spider | |
| A centopeia | centipede | |
| A minhoca | worm | |
| A borboleta | butterfly |
Pronunciation of Animals in Portuguese
Now let’s see if you learned all the names of animals in Portuguese with this exercise. Don’t forget to turn the subtitles on.
Brazil is a place with a lot of exotic animals. If you want to get to know them better and know more names of animals in Portuguese, read our dica about Exotic Animals in Brazil. Some animals have a very specific natural habitat, the zebra in Africa and the jaguar in Brazil, for example. So, even if you now know the name for bear in Portuguese, remember there are no bears in Brazil!
Can you find some of the animals on the exotic animals list in your country? Tell us! This was our Dica about the names of animals in Portuguese and we hope you enjoyed it! Go to our YouTube channel and see our video of Floresta da Tijuca. Can you spot any animal there?
See you next time!
Hugs from Rio de Janeiro!
Click on the links below to see more related Dicas
Brazilian Exotic Animals
Common Pets in Brazil
Genders in Portuguese
Online Academic Coordinator at Rio & Learn Portuguese School.
Experienced educational coordinator and teacher since 2007, adept in curriculum development, creating physical and digital educational materials, and leveraging online platforms to enhance learning outcomes