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French pets vocabulary: 12 companion animals in pictures

Edited by Chris Lee · Updated · About the library

Learn twelve French pet names with articles and picture cards, introduce your own animal and match short descriptions of ears, colours and shells.

In short

An animal companion is un animal de compagnie: un chien, un chat, un lapin or une perruche, for example. These twelve picture cards pair each animal with an article and one visible feature. Use j’ai to introduce your pet and il a or elle a to describe it.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A white rabbit sits beside a budgie on a perch in a French home.
Le lapin and la perruche are two companion animals to name. Illustration: Atelier

Dogs, cats and small mammals

le chiendogMon chien a les oreilles noires.
le chatcatLe chat dort sur le coussin.
le lapinrabbitLe lapin blanc a de longues oreilles.
le hamsterhamsterMon hamster est petit et roux.
le cochon d’Indeguinea pigLe cochon d’Inde a des taches brunes.
la sourismouseLa souris grise a une longue queue fine.
le ratratLe rat blanc grimpe sur la branche.
la gerbillegerbilLa gerbille a une longue queue avec une petite touffe au bout.

Birds, a tortoise and a fish

la perruchebudgerigar; budgieMa perruche est verte et jaune.
le canaricanaryLe canari jaune chante près de la fenêtre.
la tortuetortoise; turtleLa tortue a une carapace brune.
le poisson rougegoldfishLe poisson rouge nage dans l’eau.

Match the pet name to its picture

Tu as un animal ?
  1. Emma

    Tu as un animal de compagnie ?

    Do you have a pet?

  2. Noé

    Oui, j’ai un lapin blanc. Il s’appelle Nuage.

    Yes, I have a white rabbit. His name is Nuage.

  3. Emma

    Il est petit ?

    Is he small?

  4. Noé

    Oui, et il a de longues oreilles. Et toi ?

    Yes, and he has long ears. What about you?

  5. Emma

    J’ai une perruche. Elle est verte et jaune.

    I have a budgie. She’s green and yellow.

Introduce one pet or several
EnglishFrench
I have a cat.J’ai un chat.
I have two cats.J’ai deux chats.
My tortoise is small.Ma tortue est petite.
My hamster is small.Mon hamster est petit.

The grammatical gender follows the noun: une souris stays feminine when you name the animal. Un hamster keeps un and le: its initial h blocks elision. In a description, mon chien a les oreilles noires names the feature, then gives its colour.

Question 1No account needed
Choose the pet from this picture set.Cet animal est blanc et il a de longues oreilles.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

le lapin. The white rabbit has long ears. The fish and canary have different visible features.

Question 2No account needed
Choose the animal with the shell.Cet animal a une carapace brune.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

la tortue. The brown shell belongs to la tortue. Neither the hamster nor the budgie has one.

Question 3No account needed
Choose the bird in the description.Cet oiseau est vert et jaune.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

la perruche. In the picture set, la perruche is green and yellow; the canary is yellow.

Question 4No account needed
Choose the animal that swims.Cet animal orange nage dans l’eau.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

le poisson rouge. The orange animal with fins is le poisson rouge, the goldfish.

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