{"id":144742,"date":"2023-07-24T11:40:14","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T15:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/animal-sounds-in-spanish\/"},"modified":"2025-01-31T01:03:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-31T06:03:13","slug":"animal-sounds-in-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/animal-sounds-in-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Common Animal Sounds in Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"

Animal sounds in different languages offer a fascinating glimpse into how language shapes the way we interpret the world around us. From the onomatopoeias that mimic these noises to the verbs that describe them, there’s a lot to learn and enjoy.<\/p>\n

In Spanish, some terms align with English, while others may reveal subtle cultural differences in how animals are perceived and their sounds understood.\u00a0<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What follows is my shortlist of the fauna most worth talking to, accompanied by the noises you should make when communicating with them in Spanish.<\/p>\n

I’ve also included the verbs<\/a> that describe these sounds (just like English’s “a lamb bleats,” “a horse whinnies,” etc.). At times, theses verbs and onomatopoeia provide lovely insight into how Spanish speakers hear and experience these animal sounds,<\/strong> and sometimes they’re just plain fun.<\/p>\n

I’ve tried to present the sounds that are most commonly used in the whole Spanish-speaking world and use their most common spellings, but do note that there are some regional variations<\/a> out there.<\/p>\n

Now let’s meet some animals and say hello to them… in Spanish.<\/p>\n

Farm Animal Sounds in Spanish<\/h2>\n

\"Three<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Vaca <\/em>(cow) \u2014 Mu<\/em><\/h3>\n

Spanish has the same onomatopoeia for cow noises as English<\/a>\u2014their phonetic spelling of it is simply superior.<\/p>\n

Spanish verbs for the beasts’ communication are also better. Cows can mugir <\/em>(to moo), remudiar<\/em> (to moo back and forth between calf and cow) and bramar<\/em> (to moo loudly\/angrily).<\/p>\n

2. Gallina <\/em>(hen) \u2014 Coc co co coc<\/em><\/h3>\n

The verb cacarear<\/em> is also used for hens, even though their sounds (and the onomatopoeia for them) are quite different.<\/p>\n

3. Oveja<\/em>\u00a0(sheep),\u00a0cabra<\/em>\u00a0(goat) \u2014 Bee, mee
\n<\/em><\/h3>\n

Ovejas y cabras balan<\/em> (sheep and goats bleat) using the verb balar <\/em>(to bleat).<\/strong><\/p>\n

4. Cerdo<\/em> (pig) \u2014 Oinc-oinc<\/em><\/h3>\n

Los cerdos gru\u00f1en<\/em> (pigs grunt\/oink) using the verb gru\u00f1ir, <\/em>which\u00a0also means to complain, mutter and whine.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So Spanish porkers are seen as complainers, but then, maybe they’re tired of seeing their brethren’s cured legs (jam\u00f3n ib\u00e9rico)<\/em> hanging in every home, caf\u00e9, and bar.<\/p>\n

5. Burro<\/em>\u00a0(donkey) \u2014 Iii-ahh<\/em><\/h3>\n

I’ve never met a language that treated donkeys with any respect. In Spanish, los<\/em>\u00a0burros rebuznan<\/em> (the donkeys bray) and rebuznar<\/em> means to loudly insult or complain,<\/strong> usually for no good reason.<\/p>\n

Ser burro<\/em> means to be incredibly dumb.<\/p>\n

Bird Sounds in Spanish<\/h2>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

6. P\u00e1jaro<\/em> (bird) \u2014 P\u00edo<\/em><\/h3>\n

A p\u00edo<\/em> (that’s an accent mark, not a dot, so make sure you stress the I: “PEE-oh”) is a tweet or chirp. If you want to emphasize that you won’t reveal a secret, you can say:<\/p>\n

No digo ni p\u00edo.<\/em> (I won’t say a peep.)<\/p>\n

The verb form is piar<\/em>, and pipiar<\/em> and piolar <\/em>mean the same thing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To trill or warble in your throat, whether you’re a human or a bird, is trinar<\/em>, gorjear<\/em>\u00a0or gorgoritar<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Then, of course, there’s the activity that provides meaning to the lives of all, human and fowl alike: cantar<\/em> (to sing).<\/strong><\/p>\n

7. Cuclillo<\/em> (cuckoo) \u2014 Cuc\u00fa<\/em><\/h3>\n

Cuclillo <\/i>is a cuckoo in Spanish; when used to describe a human it means a cuckold.<\/strong><\/p>\n

8. Gallo<\/em>\u00a0(rooster) \u2014 Quiquiriqu\u00ed, kikirik\u00ed
\n<\/em><\/h3>\n

If you ever find yourself running dry for conversation<\/a> in an international business mixer, youth hostel or airport, just ask your fellow world travelers what sound they think a rooster makes. It’s hard to top cock-a-doodle-do<\/em> for aural silliness, but the Spanish quiquiriqu\u00ed <\/em>comes close.<\/p>\n

The verb in Spanish is cacarear<\/em>,<\/strong> and when you hear it used with a human as the subject it means to boast about something. For example:<\/p>\n

Cacarea el dinero que ha ga\u00f1ado.<\/em> (She’s bragging about the money she earned.)<\/p>\n

9. Pato<\/em> (duck) \u2014 Cuac cuac<\/em><\/h3>\n

The verb used for duck quacking is graznar<\/em>,<\/strong> and quite fabulously it can also be used to describe high-pitched, unimportant babble sometimes emitted by humans. Here’s an example:<\/p>\n

Graznan sus quejas.<\/em>\u00a0(They cry out\/babble out their complaints.)<\/p>\n

10. Paloma <\/em>(dove) \u2014 Cu-curru-cu-c\u00fa, cucurrucuc\u00fa
\n<\/em><\/h3>\n

You know the dove’s sound in Spanish already if you have any taste in music or movies<\/a>. My favorite is the Caetano Veloso version of this song, as used in the film “Hable con ella” <\/em>(“Talk to Her”).<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

If you’re not done crying, check out the Lila Downs version<\/a> too.<\/p>\n

Fittingly, the verb for describing doves’ noises, arrullar<\/em>, means to talk softly and\/or lovingly,<\/strong> as with the English “to coo.”<\/p>\n

11. B\u00fahos<\/em>\u00a0(owl) \u2014 Uu uu<\/em><\/h3>\n

Los b\u00fahos ululan<\/em> (owls hoot). The wind, in Spanish, doesn’t howl\u2014it also hoots:<\/strong> El viento ulula<\/em>.<\/p>\n

12. Cuervo<\/em>\u00a0(crow) \u2014 Cruaaac-cruaac<\/em><\/h3>\n

Los cuervos graznan<\/em> (crows caw). You’ll notice that in spite of their very different sounds, they’ve been assigned the same verb as ducks (graznar).<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

13. Pavo<\/em> (turkey) \u2014 Glugl\u00fa<\/em><\/h3>\n

As with English, Spanish has a ridiculous-sounding verb for this ridiculous animal’s ridiculous noises: gluglutear<\/em> (to gobble).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zoo Animal Sounds in Spanish<\/h2>\n

\"Tiger<\/a><\/p>\n

14. Lobo <\/em>(wolf) \u2014 A\u00fa\u00fa\u00fa<\/em><\/h3>\n

Wolves’ speech is described with aullar<\/em> (to howl) and also, as in\u00a0English, una persona aulla de dolor<\/em> (a person howls in pain).<\/strong> Otilar <\/em>and guarrear<\/em> are additional verb options for wolf howls.<\/p>\n

15. Tigre<\/em> (tiger) \u2014 Grgrgrgr<\/em><\/h3>\n

Los tigres rugen<\/em> (the tigers roar) employs the\u00a0verb rugir <\/em>(to roar).<\/strong> Angry humans and even the heavens can be said to roar using this verb as well, for example:<\/p>\n

La tempestad ruge.<\/em> (The storm is roaring.)<\/p>\n

16. Mono<\/em> (monkey) \u2014 I-i-i<\/em><\/h3>\n

Los monos chillan<\/em> (monkeys screech).<\/strong> The verb chillar<\/em> is very common in Spanish for describing human shouting, shrieking and yelling too:<\/p>\n

Le chill\u00e9 para que se callara.<\/em> (I screamed at her so that she would shut up.)<\/p>\n

Other Animal Sounds in Spanish<\/h2>\n

\"Frog<\/a><\/p>\n

17. Rana<\/em>\u00a0(frog) \u2014 Cro\u00e1, cro\u00e1<\/em><\/h3>\n

Las ranas croan <\/i>(frogs croak), of course.<\/p>\n

But what about that sexy\/scary\/creepy way that some old (and even occasionally young) Andalusian men hack out syllables through the cigarette tar lining their throats?<\/p>\n

In English we’d say that they croak, and the figurative use of croar<\/i>\u00a0is fine in Spanish as well. Ellos croan<\/i>\u00a0(they croak) can also be used for talking about anyone who is hoarse.<\/strong><\/p>\n

18. Perro<\/em> (dog) \u2014 Guau<\/em><\/h3>\n

We live with, love and communicate with dogs all the time,<\/a> so it’s no surprise that we have lots of verbs for the types of noises that they produce.\u00a0In Spanish, they are:<\/p>\n

ladrar<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>\u2014 to bark; when talking about humans, to make noises without follow-through, to bluster
\nga\u00f1ir<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 to yelp, howl
\nrega\u00f1ir<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 to repeatedly yelp
\ngru\u00f1ir<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 to growl menacingly
\naullar<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 to howl
\narrufarse<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 to bark menacingly while showing teeth<\/p>\n

19. Gato <\/em>(cat) \u2014 Miau<\/em><\/h3>\n

Cats can maullar<\/em> or mayar<\/em> (to meow), bufar<\/em> (to hiss; for humans it means to seethe), fufar<\/em> (also to hiss), ronronear<\/em> (to purr) and marramizar<\/em> (to howl, caterwaul).<\/p>\n

20. Abeja <\/em>(bee) \u2014 Bzzzz<\/em><\/h3>\n

Las abejas zumban<\/em> (bees buzz). The verb zumbar<\/em><\/strong> also means to hit, slap, thump or whack someone. Thus, in the video below, la abeja no zumba<\/em> in any sense, but rather, Burns<\/em> zumba a la abeja<\/em>:<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I know that these sounds will prove useful for you on the farms and fields of Spanish-speaking lands.<\/p>\n

But of course, you\u2019ll have to hear and not just read these sounds. So if you don\u2019t have a Spanish speaker around to coach you on your animal vocalizations, you can opt for Spanish audio or videos.<\/p>\n

This song from Sing with Se\u00f1or is a great way to familiarize yourself with some of the most common animal sounds:<\/p>\n

<\/lite-youtube><\/p>\n

You can also find videos in many places online or included with language learning programs like FluentU<\/a>, which equips Spanish video and audio clips with interactive tools so you can practice listening, reading and speaking skills altogether.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \"FluentU\r\n

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