Italian words for kids · Animals
Animals in Italian for kids
Animals are a favorite topic for young children, and the sounds they make are a ready-made game: kids love finding out that a dog says something different in another language.
Animals in Italian
gli animali
Sounds like ≈ lyee ah-nee-MAH-lee
Good to know: Gli is the article for plural masculine words starting with a vowel; it sounds roughly like "lyee".
The words
| English | Italian | Sounds like ≈ |
|---|---|---|
| dog | il cane | eel KAH-neh |
| cat | il gatto | eel GAHT-toh |
| bird | l'uccellino | loo-chel-LEE-noh |
| horse | il cavallo | eel kah-VAHL-loh |
| cow | la mucca | lah MOOK-kah |
| lion | il leone | eel leh-OH-neh |
Hear it in a song
Real lines from our Italian songs, with the English meaning shown in the app:
Il leone corre!
The lion runs!
from Gli Animali (The Animals)
Verso del cane?
Dog sound?
from Cosa Dice l'Animale? (What Does the Animal Say?)
2 songs that teach it
These words are key words in these songs. Every line is shown in Italian with its English meaning.
Also sung in: Dieci Uccellini, Il Gatto e il Cane, Alla Fattoria, Animali della Giungla, Dov'è?, A come Ape, Gli, Gn e le Doppie, Ciao, Autunno! and 2 more.
Practice ideas for parents
- 1Play a guessing game: make an animal sound and let your child name the animal in Italian.
- 2Line up toy animals and "call" each one by its Italian name to come for dinner.
- 3At the zoo or a farm, name every animal you see before reading its sign.
Related Italian words
“Animals” in other languages
Sing it in Italian, free
The first unit, 6 greeting songs with lyrics and English translation, is free forever. No card needed. Premium unlocks all 134 songs.
About the pronunciation: the “sounds like” spellings are rough English approximations for parents (capital letters show the stressed syllable). Italianhas sounds English doesn't, so treat them as a starting point and let the songs be the model. Songs are original and produced with AI music tools. Ideas for using Italian songs with your family.