50+ Animals in German: Hund, Katze, Hamster & More Examples!

Who doesn’t love animals? We have a bunch of lovely ones in Germany, in nature as well as in our very homes.

Today we speak about animals in German – which are native in Germany. Learn animals in German with Spring German!

1. Haustiere (pets)

For many of us, this is the category we get in touch with most. They live in our house, therefore they are called “Haustiere” – house animals. Many of us have

Hast du ein Haustier? (Do you have a pet?) Was ist dein Lieblingstier? (What is your favorite animal?) At the end of this video, I’m gonna reveal mein Lieblingstier (my favorite animal) and I guarantee you: Du wirst dich verlieben (You will fall in love).

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HERR WAGNER
Schatz, ich habe nachgedacht.
(Honey, I’ve been thinking.)

DAISY
Hm?
(Hm?)

HERR WAGNER
Wie wäre es, wenn wir uns einen süßen Hund anschaffen?
(How about getting a cute dog?)

DAISY
Ach Schatzi. Du weißt, dass ich allergisch gegen Pelztiere bin.
(Oh darling. You know that I am allergic to fur-bearing animals.)

HERR WAGNER
Wie wäre es mit einer Nacktkatze? Die hat kein Fell.
(How about a naked cat? It has no fur.)

DAISY
Das ist doch soviel Arbeit. Du musst das Tier füttern und saubermachen …
(That is so much work. You have to feed and clean the animal…)

HERR WAGNER
Naja, eine Katze frisst und putzt sich eigentlich selbst.
(Well, a cat actually eats and cleans itself.)

DAISY
Ach. Lass uns doch lieber einen Privatjet kaufen, hm?
(Oh. Let’s buy a private jet instead, hm?)

HERR WAGNER
Das frisst wesentlich mehr als ein Haustier, meine Liebe …
(Blow me down! That eats a lot more than a pet, my love…)

DAISY
Also ich wäre dafür.
(Well, I would be in favor for it.)

HERR WAGNER
Ich glaub, mich tritt ein Pferd!
(Blow me down!)

Ich glaub, mich tritt ein Pferd (Blow me down, lit.: I think, a horse is kicking me) is a phrase that means something along the lines of “I cannot believe this” or “I’ll be blowed”, which is probably what it would feel like to get kicked by a horse, hence the expression.

2. Bauernhoftiere (Farm animals)

A proper farmer must have at least a bunch of these guys:

MOTHER
Oh, Franziska! Du stehst ja mit den Hühnern auf!
(Oh, Franziska! You’re rising with the chickens!)

FRANZISKA
Ja, ich und Martin haben schon die Kühe gemolken.
(Yes, me and Martin already milked the cows.)

MOTHER
Der Esel nennt sich immer zuerst!
(The donkey always mentions itself first!)

Der Esel nennt sich immer zuerst! (The donkey always mentions itself first!) is a reprehensive proverb that is said when someone is mentioning themselves first in an enumeration of people, which is considered unmannered in the German-speaking countries. If you do that, you are rude wie ein Esel (like a donkey).

LISA is drinking coffee and reading.

FRANZISKA
Lisa, hast du die Gänse und Enten gesehen?
(Lisa, did you see the geese and ducks?)

LISA
Die sind im Nachbarsteich. Geh sie bitte holen. Ich habe heut schon genug gearbeitet.
(They’re in the neighbor’s pond. Please go fetch them. I have worked enough for today.)

Rises and walks away. Franziska is looking at the clock, it’s only half past 12.

FRANZISKA mumbling to herself.
Faule Sau.
(Lazy bastard (lit.: lazy sow).)

No farm is complete without Federvieh (poultry), like:

SAGA
Hi! Wohnst du auf dem Bauernhof?
(Hi! Do you live on a farm?)

FRANZISKA
Hi, ja, der Bauernhof gehört meinen Eltern.
(Hi, yes, the farm belongs to my parents.)

SAGA
Euch ist ein Huhn vom Hof entwischt. Wir haben es in unserem Garten entdeckt.
(A chicken escaped from your farm. We discovered it in our yard.)

FRANZISKA
Oh je! Immer diese dummen Hühner. Wo ist das Huhn jetzt?
(Oh dear. Always those stupid chickens. Where is the chicken now?)

SAGA
Auf unserem Misthaufen.
(On our dungheap.)

3. Heimische Waldtiere (native forest animals)

In a German forest, we may find:

I dare say that, apart from the occasional Wildschwein (wild boar) that becomes wild (wild), none of these animals really portray a threat to humans. It was different when the forests were still full of

Nowadays, Germany has no Bären (bears), and only few Wölfe (wolves) and Luchse (lynxes). When someone has very good hearing, we say they have Ohren wie ein Luchs (Ears like a lynx).

DAISY
Na, mein Schmusebär?
(Well, my cuddly bear?)

MAX
Bitte, lass das. Ich bin nicht verschmust.
(Please, don’t do that. I’m not cuddly.)

DAISY
Ach komm schon. Immer musst du den einsamen Wolf spielen.
(Oh, come on. You always have to play the lone wolf.)

4. Vögel (Birds)

If you pay attention, you can discover many species of Vögel (birds) in the garden, the forest, even in the cites. When looking into your garden, chances are you will see:

All of these are Vögel (birds) we see when looking above. But what will we find looking into the water?

5. Wasserlebende Tiere (waterliving animals)

Here we obviously find

Snakes can swim, too, so don’t get scared if you meet eine Schlange (a snake) during your Baden im See (bathing in the lake).

6. Reptilien (reptiles)

We have everything from cute:

7. Weichtiere (Invertebrates)

Weichtiere (Invertebrates, lit.: soft animals) literally means “soft animals”, which makes sense if you consider the consistency of:

8. Exotische Tiere (exotic animals)

In the savannah, we find animals such as:

And, of course, we should mention the relatives of our Hauskatze (domestic cat)!

9. Quiz for animals in German

Now, let’s see if you can guess my favorite animal. I give you three hints

1. It lives in the rainforest of Madagaskar.
2. It belongs to the species of Affen (monkeys)
3. It has a langer gestreifter Schwanz (long striped tail)

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the cutest animal of all time: der Lemur (the lemur).

Was für ein Tier ist das? (What animal is this?) // Das ist ein Wolf. (This is a wolf).

Was für ein Tier ist das? (What animal is this?) // Das ist eine Ziege. (This is a goat).

Was für Tiere sind das? (What animals are these?) // Das sind Fische. (These are fish.)

//

Was für ein Tier ist das? (What animal is this?) // Das ist eine Eule. (This is an owl).

Was für Tiere sind das? (What animals are these?) // Das sind Kätzchen. (These are kittens.)

Was für ein Tier ist das? (What animal is this?) // Das ist eine Katze. (This is a cat).

Was für ein Tier ist das? (What animal is this?) // Das ist eine Schnecke. (This is a snail.)

Was für ein Tier ist das? (What animal is this?) // Das ist ein Eisbär (That is a polar bear.)

Was für Tiere sind das? (What animals are these?) // Das sind Gänse. (These are geese.)

Was für ein Tier ist das? (What animal is this?) // Das ist ein Hund. (This is a dog.)

Was für Tiere sind das? (What animals are these?) // Das sind Hühner. (These are chickens).

Was für ein Tier ist das? (What animal is this?) // Das ist ein Lemur. (This is a lemur.)

Are you as enchanted as me by these wonders of nature, or do you mainly enjoy animals in Form einer Bratwurst (in the shape of a sausage)? I’m not here to shame you… openly.