Flashcards

French zoo animals vocabulary: 20 picture names and 24 flashcards

Recognise 20 large zoo animals in French, with articles, simple descriptions and picture recall, plus four extra animals in a 24-card deck.

In short

Start with the article: le lion, la girafe, l’éléphant. These picture cards teach 20 core zoo animals; the 24-card deck adds a bison, a buffalo, a llama and a tapir. Use a visible feature to name the animal: des rayures for stripes, des taches for spots and une bosse for a hump.

Yellow the idea to rememberBlue French to learn

A giraffe and zebra stand in a leafy animal habitat.
A long neck and stripes identify la girafe and le zèbre. Illustration: Atelier

The whole deck

All 24 cards, with an example each

Savannah and grassland animals

  • le lionlionLe lion a une grande crinière.
  • la girafegiraffeLa girafe a un très long cou.
  • le zèbrezebraLe zèbre a des rayures noires et blanches.
  • l’éléphant (m.)elephantL’éléphant a une longue trompe.
  • le rhinocérosrhinocerosLe rhinocéros a une corne sur le nez.
  • l’hippopotame (m.)hippopotamusL’hippopotame ouvre sa grande bouche.
  • le kangouroukangarooLe kangourou a de grandes pattes arrière.
  • le guépardcheetahLe guépard a des taches noires et un corps mince.

Forests and colder places

  • le tigretigerLe tigre a des rayures noires sur un pelage orange.
  • le gorillegorillaLe gorille a de longs bras.
  • le chimpanzéchimpanzeeLe chimpanzé est assis sur une branche.
  • l’orang-outan (m.)orangutanL’orang-outan a de longs poils roux.
  • l’ours (m.)bearCet ours a un pelage brun.
  • l’ours polaire (m.)polar bearL’ours polaire a un pelage blanc.
  • le pandagiant pandaLe panda a des taches noires autour des yeux.
  • le loupwolfLe loup gris a les oreilles pointues.

Camels, a reptile, a bird and four extras

  • le chameautwo-humped camelLe chameau a deux bosses.
  • le dromadaireone-humped camelLe dromadaire a une seule bosse.
  • le crocodilecrocodileLe crocodile a une longue queue et de grandes dents.
  • l’autruche (f.)ostrichL’autruche a un long cou et de longues pattes.
  • le bisonbisonLe bison a de petites cornes et de larges épaules.
  • le bufflebuffaloLe buffle a de grandes cornes courbées.
  • le lamallamaLe lama a un long cou et des oreilles dressées.
  • le tapirtapirLe tapir a un museau allongé.

Name the first ten animals from their pictures

le chameau / le dromadairetwo-humped camel / one-humped camel

Focus: Count the humps in these pictures

Le chameau a deux bosses ; le dromadaire en a une.
The two-humped camel has two humps; the dromedary has one.

le tigre / le guépardtiger / cheetah

Focus: Stripes or spots

Le tigre a des rayures ; le guépard a des taches.
The tiger has stripes; the cheetah has spots.

Recall the next ten core animal names

Four features for a short description
FeatureExampleMeaning
la crinièreLe lion a une crinière.The lion has a mane.
la trompeL’éléphant a une trompe.The elephant has a trunk.
le pelageL’ours a un pelage brun.The bear has brown fur.
la corneLe rhinocéros a une corne sur le nez.The rhinoceros has a horn on its nose.

Je vois une grande girafe à côté d’un zèbre. Elle a un long cou ; il a des rayures.

I can see a tall giraffe next to a zebra. It has a long neck; the zebra has stripes.

Elle refers to la girafe and il to le zèbre: the pronouns follow the nouns’ grammatical gender.

Question 1No account needed
Which animal matches the clue?Il a une longue trompe et de grandes oreilles.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

l’éléphant. The long trunk identifies l’éléphant. Neither of the other animals has a trunk.

Question 2No account needed
Which striped animal matches?Il a des rayures noires sur un pelage orange.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

le tigre. The orange fur and black stripes identify le tigre; the cheetah has spots.

Question 3No account needed
Which camel is shown by this description?Il a une seule bosse.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

le dromadaire. The dromadaire has one hump. The chameau pictured on this page has two.

Question 4No account needed
Which animal has the described fur?Il a de longs poils roux et de très longs bras.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

l’orang-outan. The reddish fur and very long arms identify l’orang-outan in the picture set.

Question 5No account needed
Which large bird matches?Cet oiseau a un long cou et de longues pattes.

Choose one answer.

Answer and explanation

l’autruche. The autruche is the bird with the long neck and legs; the other choices are mammals.