Maybe you’re planning a trip to Norway’s Tangen Zoo, home to animals from all around the world. Maybe you prefer the more natural approach, and are traveling the wilds of Northern Norway. Or maybe you’re just tired of drilling grammar lessons and want some fun vocabulary to take your mind off of verb conjugations for a bit. No matter your reason, learning how to name the animals in Norwegian is one of the more fun skills you’ll acquire along the way.
We collected some of the basic terms for animals in Norwegian. If you want to hear how each is pronounced by a native speaker, just hit the play button next to each word!
General Animal Vocab
a pet — et kjæledyr
a farm animal — et nyttedyr
a wild animal — et villdyr
a sea creature — et sjødyr
a fur — en pels
the veterinarian — en dyrlege
Names of Animals In Norwegian
a dog — en hund
a cat — en katt
a fish — en fisk
a mouse — en mus
a hamster — en hamster
a rabbit — en kanin
a rat — en rotte
a guinea pig — et marsvin
a chicken — en høne
a duck — en and
a cow — en ku
a pig — en gris
a sheep — en sau
a goat — en geit
a donkey — et esel
a horse — en hest
a elephant — en elefant
a camel — en kamel
a bird — en fugl
a goose — en gås
a pigeon — en due
a penguin — en pingvin
a parrot — en papegøye
a owl — en ugle
a eagle — en ørn
a dolphin — en delfin
a octopus — en blekksprut
a blue whale — en blåhval
a jellyfish — en manet
a starfish — en sjøstjerne
a shark — en hai
a sea turtle — en havskilpadde
a bear — en bjørn
a wolf — en ulv
a crocodile — en krokodille
a snake — en orm
a kangaroo — en kenguru
a frog — en frosk
a squirrel — et ekorn
a giraffe — en sjiraff
a hippopotamus — en flodhest
a sloth — et dovendyr
a deer — et rådyr