Animal names are a fun, memorable vocabulary set — and a few of them carry real cultural weight in Korea. The umbrella word is 동물 (dongmul, 'animal'). Here's the list with romanization, split into pets/farm animals and wild animals, plus the patterns to use them. New to the script? Our Korean alphabet guide makes these read easily.
Pets and farm animals
- 개gae
dog
Usually said as 강아지 (gangaji, 'puppy') affectionately for any dog.
- 고양이goyangi
cat
From the meow sound 야옹 (yaong).
- 토끼tokki
rabbit
- 말mal
horse
- 소so
cow / cattle
Beef is 소고기 (sogogi) — literally 'cow meat'.
- 돼지dwaeji
pig
Pork is 돼지고기. Pigs symbolize wealth/luck in Korean culture.
- 닭dak
chicken
- 새sae
bird
- 물고기mulgogi
fish (live / as animal)
물 (water) + 고기 (flesh). Fish as food is 생선 (saengseon).
Wild animals
- 호랑이horangi
tiger
Central to Korean folklore and the founding myth.
- 곰gom
bear
The bear becomes human (Ungnyeo) in the Dangun founding myth.
- 사자saja
lion
- 코끼리kokkiri
elephant
- 원숭이wonsungi
monkey
- 여우yeou
fox
- 늑대neukdae
wolf
- 뱀baem
snake
- 쥐jwi
mouse / rat
Using animal words
- 무슨 동물을 좋아해요?museun dongmureul joahaeyo?
What animal do you like?
Answer: 고양이를 좋아해요 ('I like cats').
- 강아지가 귀여워요gangajiga gwiyeowoyo
The puppy is cute.
귀엽다 ('to be cute') — a word you'll use constantly in Korea.
Many of these also appear as the 12 zodiac animals (띠) Koreans use for birth years — another reason they're worth knowing. Drill them with spaced repetition in our vocabulary deck, and practice describing your pets in our AI character chat.
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