All Animal Vocabulary in English

Let’s learn the names of animals in English!

Whether you’re a beginner or aiming to refine your English language skills, our list of various animals includes audio to assist you in improving your pronunciation. Enjoy discovering and mastering the names of our interesting animal kingdom.

Animals live in different places like on land, in water, and in the air. They have special features that help them survive in these environments. Animals are important to nature because they help keep ecosystems balanced by eating plants or other animals, and spreading seeds. People have also tamed animals for pets, farming, and other jobs, showing how closely connected humans and animals are.

I’ve sorted the list of animals into nine groups based on their characteristics and habitats, which can be helpful for learning English in several ways. Understanding these categories helps learners grasp new vocabulary related to animals and their roles in different environments.

Animals Categories

• Pets
  Pets are animals that people keep for enjoyment. They live closely with people.
• Farm Animals
  Farm animals are animals that are bred for their meat, milk, eggs, wool, or other products.
• Fish
  Fish are aquatic animals that live in water. They have gills to breathe and fins to swim.
• Reptiles
  Reptiles are cold-blooded animals that usually have dry scales or skin. They lay eggs on land and breathe air.
• Shellfish
  Shellfish are water animals with hard outer shells.
• Birds
  Birds are animals with feathers, beaks, and wings for flying (though not all birds can fly).
• Insects
  Often called “bugs”, insects are tiny animals with six legs and some also have wings.
• Baby Animals
  Sometimes baby animals have different names from the adults. We’ve listed the most commonly used ones.
• Other
  The “Other” category includes animals that don’t fit neatly into another category.

Animal Levels

We have also categorized the animals into different levels based on how well-known they are among English speakers. This will help you decide which animals to focus on learning!

• Level 1: Learn these first
  Animals in this category are the most commonly discussed. Beginners should learn these first animals first.
• Level 2: You should also know these
  These are well-known but maybe not discussed as often as those in Level 1. They’re still important to know!
• Level 3: Only native-level speakers will know these
  Animals here are not widely known to non-native English speakers. We don’t talk about them often.
• Level 4: Many native speakers don’t even know these
  Animals that not well-known even among native speakers and they almost never come up in conversation.

Name	Level	Category	Audio
Aardvark	4	Other
Alligator	2	Reptile
Alpaca	3	Other
Ant	1	Insect
Anteater	3	Other
Antelope	3	Other
Armadillo	3	Other
Baboon	2	Other
Badger	1	Other
Barracuda	4	Fish
Bat	2	Other
Bear	1	Other
Beaver	2	Other
Bee	1	Insect
Beetle	2	Insect
Bird	1	Bird
Bison	3	Other
Bobcat	3	Other
Buffalo	3	Other
Bull	2	Other
Butterfly	1	Insect
Calf	3	Baby Animal
Camel	1	Other
Capybara	4	Other
Caribou	4	Other
Cat	1	Pet
Caterpillar	1	Insect
Centipede	2	Insect
Chameleon	2	Reptile
Cheetah	2	Other
Chick	2	Baby Animal
Chicken	1	Farm Animal
Chimp / Chimpanzee	2	Other
Chinchilla	3	Other
Chipmunk	2	Other
Cicada	4	Insect
Clam	2	Shellfish
Cockroach	2	Insect
Cougar	3	Other
Cow	1	Farm Animal
Crab	2	Shellfish
Crane	3	Bird
Crawfish / Crayfish / Crawdad	4	Shellfish
Cricket	2	Insect
Crocodile	2	Reptile
Crow	3	Bird
Cub	1	Baby Animal
Deer	1	Other
Dog	1	Pet
Dolphin	2	Other
Donkey	1	Other
Dove	2	Bird
Dragonfly	2	Insect
Duck	1	Bird
Duckling	2	Baby Animal
Eagle	2	Bird
Elephant	1	Other
Elk	2	Other
Fawn	3	Baby Animal
Ferret	3	Other
Firefly	3	Insect
Fish	1	Fish
Flamingo	2	Bird
Flea	2	Insect
Fly	1	Insect
Foal	3	Baby Animal
Fox	1	Other
Frog	1	Other
Gazelle	3	Other
Gecko	2	Reptile
Giraffe	1	Other
Goat	1	Farm Animal
Goose	2	Bird
Gopher	3	Other
Gorilla	1	Other
Grasshopper	2	Insect
Guinea Pig	2	Pet
Hamster	1	Pet
Hawk	2	Bird
Hedgehog	1	Other
Hippo / Hippopotamus	1	Other
Horse	1	Farm Animal
Hummingbird	2	Bird
Hyena	2	Other
Iguana	2	Reptile
Jaguar	3	Other
Jellyfish	2	Other
Kangaroo	1	Other
Kitten	2	Baby Animal
Koala	2	Other
Ladybug / Ladybird	1	Insect
Lamb	2	Baby Animal
Lemming	4	Other
Lemur	2	Other
Leopard	2	Other
Lion	1	Other
Lizard	2	Reptile
Llama	2	Other
Lobster	2	Shellfish
Lynx	4	Other
Manatee	4	Other
Manta Ray	2	Other
Meerkat	2	Other
Monkey	1	Other
Moose	2	Other
Mosquito	3	Insect
Moth	2	Insect
Mountain Lion	2	Other
Mouse	1	Other
Mule	3	Other
Muskrat	4	Other
Mussel	3	Shellfish
Narwhal	4	Other
Newt	3	Other
Ocelot	4	Other
Octopus	2	Other
Opossum	3	Other
Orangutan	2	Other
Otter	2	Other
Owl	2	Bird
Oyster	2	Shellfish
Panda	1	Other
Parrot	2	Bird
Pelican	2	Bird
Penguin	2	Bird
Pig	1	Farm Animal
Pigeon	2	Bird
Piglet	2	Baby Animal
Piranha	3	Fish
Platypus	3	Other
Pony	1	Other
Porcupine	2	Other
Prairie Dog	4	Other
Prawn	2	Shellfish
Praying Mantis	2	Insect
Puma	3	Other
Puppy	2	Baby Animal
Quail	3	Bird
Rabbit/Bunny	1	Pet
Raccoon	2	Other
Rat	1	Other
Rhino / Rhinoceros	1	Other
Robin	2	Bird
Rooster	1	Farm Animal
Salamander	3	Other
Scorpion	2	Other
Sea Lion	2	Other
Sea Urchin	4	Other
Seagull	2	Bird
Seal	2	Other
Shark	2	Fish
Sheep	1	Farm Animal
Shrew	4	Other
Shrimp	2	Shellfish
Silverfish	4	Insect
Skunk	2	Other
Sloth	2	Other
Slug	1	Insect
Snail	1	Insect
Snake	1	Reptile
Sparrow	3	Bird
Spider	1	Insect
Squid	2	Other
Squirrel	1	Other
Starfish	2	Fish
Stork	3	Bird
Swan	2	Bird
Tadpole	3	Baby Animal
Termite	3	Insect
Tick	3	Insect
Tiger	1	Other
Toad	2	Other
Tortoise	2	Reptile
Turkey	1	Bird
Turtle	2	Reptile
Wallaby	3	Other
Walrus	2	Other
Weasel	3	Other
Whale	1	Other
Wildebeest	4	Other
Wolf	1	Other
Wombat	4	Other
Woodpecker	2	Bird
Worm	1	Insect
Yak	3	Other
Zebra	1	Other

We hope that you enjoyed looking through this table showing all of the names of animals in English. If you have any questions, you can send us a message here.

And if you would like to get some personalized one-on-one help with this topic or any other English topic, please consider signing up for a private English lesson!