Animals

1. el perro

   Dog

   Usage

   "Me ha mordido un perro" — a dog bit me. Loose dogs are common in rural Latin America

2. el gato

   Cat

   Usage

   For the resident cat at a guesthouse. If you react, say "soy alérgico/a a los gatos"

3. el pájaro

   Bird

   Usage

   The everyday word for a small bird. The formal or large-bird word is "el ave" — feminine, but it takes "el" in the singular

4. el pez

   Fish (living)

   Usage

   Spanish always separates the live fish ("el pez") from the fish you eat ("el pescado"). Order "pescado" in a restaurant

   Grammar Note

   Plural "los peces"

5. el caballo

   Horse

   Usage

   A horse ride is "un paseo a caballo" — popular in Andalusia and on Argentine estancias

6. la vaca

   Cow

   Usage

   On farms and hiking trails, and a constant topic on Argentine and Uruguayan estancias

7. el toro

   Bull

   Usage

   Central to Spanish tradition: the Pamplona bull run is "el encierro", a bullfight "una corrida de toros". Opinions differ sharply on animal welfare, so tread carefully

8. el cerdo

   Pig

   Usage

   The animal and the meat. Latin America mostly says "el chancho" (Argentina, Chile, Peru) or "el puerco" (Mexico)

9. la gallina

   Hen

   Usage

   The live bird; the meat on a menu is "el pollo". A rooster is "el gallo"

10. el pato

    Duck

    Usage

    A park-pond regular — the Retiro in Madrid, for instance

11. la cabra

    Goat

    Usage

    Comes up on farm visits and at cheese counters — "queso de cabra" is a Spanish staple

12. la oveja

    Sheep

    Usage

    Across the Castilian plateau and Patagonian estancias. Sheep cheese — "queso de oveja" — includes Manchego

13. el burro

    Donkey

    Usage

    Still working in Andalusian villages and Latin American mountain paths. Applied to a person it means "idiot", so keep it for the animal

14. el conejo

    Rabbit

    Usage

    Common in fields at dusk, and a core ingredient of a true paella valenciana

15. el ratón

    Mouse

    Usage

    Report one to reception. The bigger kind is "la rata" and Spanish keeps them apart

16. la ardilla

    Squirrel

    Usage

    Common in Spanish parks and pine woods — the native red squirrel with its tufted ears

17. el zorro

    Fox

    Usage

    Seen in open country; different species live in Patagonia and the Andes

18. el ciervo

    Deer

    Usage

    The autumn rut in Monfragüe and Cabañeros is a spectacle in itself. Watch for them on roads after dark

19. el jabalí

    Wild boar

    Usage

    Numbers are rising all over Spain — they even walk into Barcelona from Collserola park. Never approach one with young

20. el oso

    Bear

    Usage

    In Spain a protected rarity of the Cantabrian mountains and the Pyrenees — and the emblem of Madrid

21. el erizo

    Hedgehog

    Usage

    A nocturnal garden visitor. A sea urchin is "un erizo de mar" — eaten along the Spanish coast

22. el murciélago

    Bat

    Usage

    Out at dusk around old buildings, and the emblem of the city of Valencia. See a doctor if one bites or scratches you

23. la paloma

    Pigeon

    Usage

    In every plaza. Feeding them is banned in parts of Barcelona and Madrid

24. la gaviota

    Seagull

    Usage

    They will go for your food on a seafront terrace, all along the Mediterranean and in the Canaries

25. la cigüeña

    Stork

    Usage

    They build huge nests on church towers across inland Spain — Cáceres and Alcalá de Henares are famous for them

26. la serpiente

    Snake

    Usage

    In Spain only the "víbora" is venomous and encounters are rare. Central and South America have many dangerous species — if bitten, stay still and call for help

27. la lagartija

    Small lizard

    Usage

    The little lizard basking on every Spanish wall — harmless. A big one is "el lagarto"

28. la rana

    Frog

    Usage

    Around ponds and irrigation channels. Spotting the carved frog on the façade of Salamanca University is a tourist ritual

29. el mosquito

    Mosquito

    Usage

    Repellent is "repelente de mosquitos". A bite is "una picadura" — show that word at a pharmacy for a cream

30. la mosca

    Fly

    Usage

    Comes up when eating on a terrace. The idiom "estar mosca" means to be suspicious, but that is colloquial

31. la abeja

    Bee

    Usage

    If you carry an EpiPen, say "soy alérgico/a a las picaduras de abeja" up front

32. la avispa

    Wasp

    Usage

    They crowd terraces in late summer. Swatting invites a sting — stay still instead

33. la hormiga

    Ant

    Usage

    Report them to reception if they get into your room, and keep food sealed

34. la cucaracha

    Cockroach

    Usage

    Grounds for asking to change rooms — and the title of the famous Mexican folk song

35. la araña

    Spider

    Usage

    Spanish spiders are essentially harmless. Some Latin American ones are not — shake out your shoes

36. la garrapata

    Tick

    Usage

    Watch for them on grassy trails. Tell a doctor "me ha picado una garrapata"

37. la medusa

    Jellyfish

    Usage

    Summer blooms are common on Mediterranean beaches. Tell a lifeguard "me ha picado una medusa". A purple flag on a Spanish beach warns of them

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