Vocab: どうぶつ - Animals

　Japanese learners often meet animals very early: いぬ, ねこ, さかな.But if you look a little deeper, those “cute words from the textbook” are actually a doorway into how Japanese organizes life itself: mammals, birds, amphibians, even microorganisms.

This article takes the vocabulary you gave (dogs, sharks, beetles, bacteria, etc.) and turns it into a mini biology tour in Japanese — written for curious learners who like to understand patterns, not just memorize lists.

All explanations are in English; all Japanese is shown with ひらがな＋kanji＋romaji so learners at different levels can use it.

1. The big map: from どうぶつ to びせいぶつ

In everyday Japanese, you’ll often hear:

• どうぶつ（動物, dōbutsu） — animals (usually non-human)

• にんげん（人間, ningen） — human beings
  

In school science, creatures are further grouped using terms like:

• ほにゅうるい（哺乳類, honyūrui） — mammals

• ちょうるい（鳥類, chōrui） — birds

• はちゅうるい（爬虫類, hachūrui） — reptiles

• りょうせいるい（両生類, ryōseirui） — amphibians

• ぎょるい（魚類, gyorui） — fish

• こんちゅう（昆虫, konchū） — insects

• びせいぶつ（微生物, biseibutsu） — microorganisms
  

We’ll use those science-style categories as a logical way to group your vocabulary, but keep everything at a learner-friendly level.

2. Mammals: ほにゅうるい（哺乳類）

Mammals are animals that feed milk to their young and are usually warm-blooded and furry. Many beginner Japanese animal words live here.

• 🐶 いぬ（犬, inu） — dog

• 🐱 ねこ（猫, neko） — cat

• 🐮 うし（牛, ushi） — cow

• 🐴 うま（馬, uma） — horse

• 🐰 うさぎ（兎, usagi） — rabbit

• 🐭 ねずみ（鼠, nezumi） — mouse / rat

• 🦁 ライオン（らいおん, raion） — lion
  

A couple of interesting points:

• ねずみ can mean both mouse and rat. Context (size, situation) fills in the details.

• うさぎ is historically special in Japanese counting: in some traditional systems it’s counted with birds because of its long ears and hopping movement (...羽: wa), but biologically it is of course a mammal.
  

These are the animals that often appear in children’s stories, idioms, and daily conversation.

3. Birds: ちょうるい（鳥類）

Birds are warm-blooded, feathered, egg-laying creatures. In Japanese, the everyday umbrella word is:

• とり（鳥, tori） — bird
  

From there, you can branch into more specific birds:

• 🐔 にわとり（鶏, niwatori） — chicken

• 🕊 ハト（はと, hato） — pigeon / dove

• 🐧 ペンギン（ぺんぎん, pengin） — penguin

• 🦅 ワシ（わし, washi） — eagle

• 🦉 フクロウ（ふくろう, fukurō） — owl
  

Some names are native Japanese words (にわとり, ふくろう), others are loanwords (ペンギン). This mix is typical in modern Japanese: older, familiar animals often have yamato-kotoba (native) names, while animals known mainly through modern science or media may use katakana.

4. Reptiles: はちゅうるい（爬虫類）

Reptiles are cold-blooded, scaly animals that lay eggs on land.

• 🐍 ヘビ（へび, hebi） — snake

• 🦎 トカゲ（とかげ, tokage） — lizard

• 🐢 カメ（かめ, kame） — turtle / tortoise

• 🐊 ワニ（わに, wani） — crocodile / alligator

• 🦎 ヤモリ（やもり, yamori） — gecko
  

A neat detail:

• やもり（家守） literally means “house protector.” Geckos eat insects around houses, so the name reflects their role in human life, not just their biology.
  

5. Amphibians: りょうせいるい（両生類）

Amphibians live both in water and on land (that’s what “両 (both) 生 (life)” suggests).

• 🐸 カエル（かえる, kaeru） — frog

• 🐸 ヒキガエル（ひきがえる, hikigaeru） — toad

• 🦎 イモリ（いもり, imori） — newt

• 🦎 サンショウウオ（さんしょううお, sanshōuo） — salamander

• 🐸 おたまじゃくし（otamajakushi） — tadpole
  

One common confusion for learners is カエル:

• かえる（帰る, kaeru） — to go back / return (verb)

• カエル（蛙, kaeru)） — frog (noun)
  

They sound the same but use different kanji and meanings. Wordplay sometimes uses this coincidence (for example in charms related to safe return), but in biology, カエル is simply the animal.

6. Fish: ぎょるい（魚類）

Japan has a long history of fishing and seafood, so it’s no surprise fish vocabulary is rich and important.

• 🐟 さかな（魚(さかな, sakana)） — fish (general)

• 🐟 サケ（さけ, sake） — salmon

• 🐟 マグロ（まぐろ, maguro） — tuna

• 🐠 金魚（きんぎょ, kingyo） — goldfish

• 🐟 コイ（こい, koi） — carp

• 🦈 サメ（さめ, same） — shark
  

A small cultural note:

• さかな originally had a broader meaning related to “food eaten with alcohol.” Over time, it became strongly associated with fish, reflecting how often fish appeared as side dishes (さかな: 肴) in Japanese meals.
  

7. Insects: こんちゅう（昆虫）

Insects are small, often winged or many-legged creatures. Japanese insect vocabulary frequently uses sound symbolism or compact syllables.

• 🦋 チョウ（ちょう, chō） — butterfly

• 🐝 ハチ（はち, hachi） — bee

• 🐜 アリ（あり, ari） — ant

• 🦟 カ（か, ka） — mosquito

• 🐞 カブトムシ（かぶとむし, kabutomushi） — rhinoceros beetle

• 🐛 いもむし（芋虫, imomushi)） — caterpillar
  

カブトムシ combines:

• かぶと（兜, kabuto） — helmet

• むし（虫, mushi） — insect
  

The name describes the beetle’s “helmet-like” horn. These beetles are commonly kept as pets by children in Japan, especially in summer.

8. Microorganisms: びせいぶつ（微生物）

Microorganisms are very small life forms visible only under a microscope. In everyday Japanese, the term びせいぶつ can include bacteria, yeast, some fungi, and microscopic organisms; viruses occupy a special conceptual space in biology (there is active discussion about whether they are “alive” in the strict sense), but in daily language they are often grouped together when talking about tiny agents that affect health or fermentation.

• 🦠 細菌（さいきん, saikin） — bacteria

• 🦠 ウイルス（ういるす, uirusu） — virus

• 🧫 酵母（こうぼ, kōbo） — yeast

• 🧫 カビ（かび, kabi） — mold

• 🧫 プランクトン（ぷらんくとん, purankuton） — plankton
  

In food culture:

• Certain molds and yeasts — especially こうじ（麹, kōji)）, a type of fungus — are essential for making みそ, しょうゆ, and さけ.

• So while mold in English often feels negative, Japanese also has a long tradition of positive, controlled use of microorganisms in cuisine.
  

9. Humans: にんげん（人間）

Finally, where do we go in this map?

• 🧍 にんげん（人間, ningen)） — human being
  

Biologically, humans are mammals; in everyday Japanese, though, にんげん is often separated from どうぶつ in language, even though science places us firmly inside the animal kingdom.

The word 人間:にんげん is written with kanji meaning “人: person” and “間: interval / space.” It can be interpreted as “the world between people” — hinting at the idea that being human is deeply connected to relationships and social context.

「単語(たんご)リスト: vocabulary list」

Term (Kanji / ひらがな・romaji)	Meaning (English)
動物（どうぶつ, dōbutsu）	animal (general, usually non-human)
人間（にんげん, ningen）	human being
哺乳類（ほにゅうるい, honyūrui）	mammals
鳥類（ちょうるい, chōrui）	birds (taxonomic group)
爬虫類（はちゅうるい, hachūrui）	reptiles
両生類（りょうせいるい, ryōseirui）	amphibians
魚類（ぎょるい, gyorui）	fish (taxonomic group)
昆虫（こんちゅう, konchū）	insects
微生物（びせいぶつ, biseibutsu）	microorganisms
犬（いぬ, inu）	dog
猫（ねこ, neko）	cat
牛（うし, ushi）	cow
馬（うま, uma）	horse
兎（うさぎ, usagi）	rabbit
鼠（ねずみ, nezumi）	mouse / rat
ライオン（らいおん, raion）	lion
鳥（とり, tori）	bird
鶏（にわとり, niwatori）	chicken
鳩（はと, hato）	pigeon / dove
ペンギン（ぺんぎん, pengin）	penguin
鷲（わし, washi）	eagle
梟（ふくろう, fukurō）	owl
蛇（へび, hebi）	snake
トカゲ（とかげ, tokage）	lizard
亀（かめ, kame）	turtle / tortoise
鰐（わに, wani）	crocodile / alligator
家守（やもり, yamori）	gecko
蛙（カエル, kaeru）	frog
ヒキガエル（ひきがえる, hikigaeru）	toad
イモリ（いもり, imori）	newt
山椒魚（さんしょううお, sanshōuo）	salamander
おたまじゃくし（otamajakushi）	tadpole
魚（さかな, sakana）	fish
サケ（さけ, sake）	salmon
マグロ（まぐろ, maguro）	tuna
金魚（きんぎょ, kingyo）	goldfish
コイ（こい, koi）	carp
サメ（さめ, same）	shark
チョウ（ちょう, chō）	butterfly
蜂（ハチ, hachi）	bee
蟻（アリ, ari）	ant
蚊（カ, ka）	mosquito
カブトムシ（かぶとむし, kabutomushi）	rhinoceros beetle
芋虫（いもむし, imomushi）	caterpillar
細菌（さいきん, saikin）	bacteria
ウイルス（ういるす, uirusu）	virus
酵母（こうぼ, kōbo）	yeast
カビ（かび, kabi）	mold
プランクトン（ぷらんくとん, purankuton）	plankton
麹（こうじ, kōji）	kōji mold used in fermentation