Animals in Arabic
Arabic · Key Stage 1 · The School
Six common animals
قِطّة (qiṭṭa) cat. كَلْب (kalb) dog. أَسَد (asad) lion. فيل (fīl) elephant. طائِر (ṭāʾir) bird. سَمَكة (samaka) fish. Say each word while picturing the real animal in your head, not just as a sound. Repeat each one out loud.
Matching word to picture
Cover the English word next to each animal picture. Look only at the Arabic word. Say it out loud. Then check the picture to see if you were right. This quick check, every time, is what builds real vocabulary fastest.
Saying "this is a..."
You already know هٰذا (hādhā) for masculine "this". هٰذا كَلْب — this is a dog. For feminine, use هٰذِهِ (hādhihi). هٰذِهِ قِطّة — this is a cat. Both قِطّة and سَمَكة are feminine, thanks to their ة ending. Try one more example.
Introducing six animals correctly
Introduce all six animals with the right word for "this". هٰذا كَلْب — this is a dog. هٰذِهِ قِطّة — this is a cat, feminine because of the ة. هٰذا أَسَد — this is a lion. هٰذا فيل — this is an elephant. هٰذا طائِر — this is a bird. هٰذِهِ سَمَكة — this is a fish, feminine again for the same reason. Four masculine animals used هٰذا; two feminine ones used هٰذِهِ, and the ة ending told you which was which every single time.
Building your animal vocabulary
Six animals is a real start, not the end. Next time you see a real animal, ask what its Arabic name might be. Look it up. Add it to your list. A vocabulary grows one real, remembered word at a time.