Animals That Start With Each Letter in Spanish (A to Z)

Quick answer: Here are easy Spanish animals for every letter: A – abeja (bee), B – ballena (whale), C – caballo (horse), D – delfín (dolphin), E – elefante (elephant), F – foca (seal), G – gato (cat), H – hormiga (ant), I – iguana, J – jirafa (giraffe), K – koala, L – león (lion), M – mono (monkey), N – nutria (otter), Ñ – ñu (wildebeest), O – oso (bear), P – perro (dog), Q – quetzal, R – ratón (mouse), S – serpiente (snake), T – tigre (tiger), U – urraca (magpie), V – vaca (cow), W – wombat, X – xoloitzcuintle (Mexican hairless dog), Y – yegua (mare), Z – zorro (fox).

Alphabet animal lists are great for kids’ homework, classroom games and flashcards. Below you’ll find several animals for each letter of the Spanish alphabet, including Ñ, with the article (el or la) so you know the gender. Watch for the surprises: “zebra” starts with C in Spanish (la cebra), and “giraffe” starts with J (la jirafa).

Animals that start with A to E in Spanish

Letter	Spanish	English
A	la abeja, el águila, la araña, la ardilla, el avestruz, el armadillo, el alce	bee, eagle, spider, squirrel, ostrich, armadillo, moose
B	la ballena, el búho, el burro, el búfalo, el bisonte	whale, owl, donkey, buffalo, bison
C	el caballo, la cabra, el cerdo, el conejo, el cocodrilo, el camello, el canguro, la cebra	horse, goat, pig, rabbit, crocodile, camel, kangaroo, zebra
D	el delfín, el dromedario, el dingo, el dragón de Komodo	dolphin, dromedary, dingo, Komodo dragon
E	el elefante, el erizo, el escorpión, la estrella de mar, el escarabajo	elephant, hedgehog, scorpion, starfish, beetle

Animals that start with F to J in Spanish

Letter	Spanish	English
F	la foca, el flamenco, el faisán	seal, flamingo, pheasant
G	el gato, la gallina, el gorila, el ganso, la gaviota, el grillo, el guepardo	cat, hen, gorilla, goose, seagull, cricket, cheetah
H	la hormiga, el hipopótamo, la hiena, el halcón, el hámster	ant, hippo, hyena, falcon, hamster
I	la iguana, el impala	iguana, impala
J	la jirafa, el jaguar, el jabalí	giraffe, jaguar, wild boar

Animals that start with K to O in Spanish

Letter	Spanish	English
K	el koala, el kiwi, el kril	koala, kiwi, krill
L	el león, el lobo, el loro, el lagarto, la lechuza, la langosta, la llama	lion, wolf, parrot, lizard, barn owl, lobster, llama
M	el mono, la mariposa, la mosca, el murciélago, el mapache, la mula	monkey, butterfly, fly, bat, raccoon, mule
N	la nutria, el narval	otter, narwhal
Ñ	el ñu, el ñandú	wildebeest, rhea (a South American bird like an ostrich)
O	el oso, la oveja, la orca, el ornitorrinco, la oruga	bear, sheep, orca, platypus, caterpillar

Animals that start with P to T in Spanish

Letter	Spanish	English
P	el perro, el pato, el pingüino, el pez, el pulpo, la paloma, la pantera, el pavo	dog, duck, penguin, fish, octopus, pigeon, panther, turkey
Q	el quetzal, el quirquincho	quetzal (Guatemala’s national bird), armadillo (Andes word)
R	el ratón, la rana, el rinoceronte, el reno, la raya	mouse, frog, rhino, reindeer, stingray
S	la serpiente, el sapo, el salmón, el saltamontes, la sardina	snake, toad, salmon, grasshopper, sardine
T	el tigre, la tortuga, el tiburón, el toro, el tucán, el topo	tiger, turtle, shark, bull, toucan, mole

Animals that start with U to Z in Spanish

Letter	Spanish	English
U	la urraca, el urogallo, el unicornio (imaginary!)	magpie, capercaillie (a large grouse), unicorn
V	la vaca, el venado, la víbora, el visón	cow, deer, viper, mink
W	el wombat, el wapití	wombat, elk (wapiti)
X	el xoloitzcuintle (xolo)	Mexican hairless dog
Y	la yegua, el yak, el yacaré	mare, yak, caiman
Z	el zorro, el zorrillo, el zopilote, el zancudo	fox, skunk, vulture, mosquito

K and W are rare in Spanish, so most animals for those letters are borrowed words. X is the hardest letter: the xoloitzcuintle comes from the Nahuatl language of Mexico, and it’s pronounced “sho-lo-eets-KWEENT-leh.”

Tricky animals: the letter changes in Spanish

English	Spanish	Starts with
zebra	la cebra	C
giraffe	la jirafa	J
hippo	el hipopótamo	H (silent)
owl	el búho / la lechuza	B / L
squirrel	la ardilla	A
turtle	la tortuga	T
bee	la abeja	A

Regional animal names

A few animals have different names depending on the country, which is good to know if your kids learn with a tutor from Mexico, Colombia or Peru:

• Skunk: zorrillo (Mexico), mofeta (Spain), zorrino (Argentina)
• Turkey: pavo (most countries), guajolote (Mexico)
• Mosquito: mosquito (everywhere), zancudo (Mexico, Central America, Colombia)
• Deer: venado (Latin America), ciervo (Spain)
• Pig: cerdo, puerco, cochino, chancho (South America)

Games to practice the Spanish animal alphabet

1. Alphabet chain: Take turns naming an animal for each letter, A to Z. If you get stuck, you’re out.
2. ¿Qué animal soy? One person acts out an animal; the others guess in Spanish.
3. Letter hunt: Call out a letter (“¡La P!”) and race to name an animal and its sound.
4. Flashcards: Print our Spanish flashcards for kids and sort them by first letter.

Keep practicing

For animal sounds, baby animals and more vocabulary, read our full guide to names of animals in Spanish. Pair it with the Spanish alphabet sounds and our games for kids. If your child would enjoy learning with a real person, try a 30-minute lesson with one of our kids’ Spanish tutors.