Animals - Phonetics

You’re learning new words but you don’t really know how to pronounce them? Just take a look at these animal names to make sure you know the right pronunciation.

Goat  [gəʊt]

Hippo  [ˈhɪpəʊ] - Remember to not use ‘’hippo’’ in written language because it’s the informal form of hippopotame

Giraffe  [dʒɪˈrɑ:f]

Cow  [kaʊ]

Kangaroo  [ˌkæŋgəˈru:]

Horse  [hɔ:s]

Camel  [ˈkæml]

Dromedary  [ˈdrɒmədərɪ] in this word, the letters ‘’e’’ and ‘’a’’ are pronounced the same way

Dog  [dɒg]

Elephant  [ˈelɪfənt] remember that the second ‘’e’’ is not pronounced like the first one

Tiger  [ˈtaɪgəɼ]

Lion  [ˈlaɪən]

Zebra  [ˈzebrə] in UK and [ˈzi:brə] in the US

Cat  [kæt] - you can also use the word pussy  [ˈpʊsɪ] but it’s informal

Sheep  [ʃi:p] - this is an irregular plural animal word, so the singular and plural forms are the same

Angelfish  [ˈeɪndʒəlfɪʃ] - angelfish or angelfishes in plural, these are the two possibilities

Crab  [kræb]

Urchin  [ˈɜ:tʃɪn]

Dolphin  [ˈdɒlfɪn]

Turtle  [ˈtɜ:tl]

Monkey  [ˈmʌŋkɪ]

Bee   [bi:]

Bull  [bʊl]

Duck  [dʌk]

Bird  [bɜ:d]

Here are other well-known animals

Rabbit  [ˈræbɪt]

Frog  [frɒg]

Fish  [bɜ:d] - even if there are two possibilities in plural (fish or fishes), most of the time fish is written the same way in both singular and plural forms.  

Mouse  [maʊs] - be careful with that one because the plural form is mice  [maɪs]

Hamster  [ˈhæmstəɼ]

Snake  [sneɪk]

Spider  [sneɪk]

Eagle  [ˈi:gl]

Don’t hesitate to repeat several times in order to pronounce them the right way. See you soon!