Spanish animals: match un perro, un gato and more: what children learn
Animals and pets are a popular Key Stage 2 Spanish topic, because children love talking about them and the words are easy to picture. This matching game pairs fourteen animals, from un perro (a dog) and un gato (a cat) to una rana (a frog) and un cerdo (a pig), with their English meanings.
Each word is shown with un or una, the Spanish words for “a”. That is on purpose: every Spanish noun is masculine or feminine, and learning the little word together with the noun makes grammar much easier later. Many masculine nouns end in o (un gato) and many feminine nouns end in a (una vaca), but not all: un pez and una serpiente have to be learned. Reading carefully and matching words to their meanings is exactly what the curriculum asks for.
This topic covers a Key Stage 2 statutory requirement in the National Curriculum in England (Subject content): pupils should be taught to “read carefully and show understanding of words, phrases and simple writing”. The programme of study sets this for the whole of Key Stage 2, so schools choose when to teach it; we have placed this game in Year 4 (ages 8–9).
There is no direct equivalent in the US Common Core State Standards.
How to play
Pick a card on the left, then the card on the right that matches it. Each game has 6 pairs. Wrong matches are counted as mistakes, and you get three stars for a game with no mistakes.
Step by step
- Start with pets. Un perro, un gato, un conejo, un ratón, un pez, un pájaro. Ask: which pets do we know?
- Add farm animals. Un caballo, una vaca, un cerdo, una oveja, un pato.
- Learn the article with the word. Always say un perro, una rana, never just perro.
- Use the o and a clue. Words ending in o are usually masculine (un pato), words ending in a usually feminine (una araña).
- Build a sentence. Tengo un perro means I have a dog. Tengo un gato negro means I have a black cat.
Worked examples
Example 1: What does un ratón mean?
Working: It is a small animal that a cat might chase.
Answer: A mouse.
Example 2: What does un caballo mean?
Working: You can ride it.
Answer: A horse.
Example 3: Is it un or una oveja?
Working: Oveja ends in a and is feminine.
Answer: una oveja
Common mistakes and how to fix them
- Mixing up un pez and un pato. Un pez swims (a fish); un pato quacks (a duck).
- Thinking every word ending in e is masculine or feminine. Words ending in e can be either: una serpiente is feminine. Learn each word with un or una.
- Saying the j and ll sounds the English way. In conejo the j is a throaty h sound, and in caballo ll sounds like y.
- Leaving off the accents in ratón and pájaro. The accent shows which part of the word to stress: ra-TÓN, PÁ-ja-ro.
Activities to try at home
- Say what pets your family and friends have: tengo un gato.
- Play animal charades: act an animal and the others shout its Spanish name.
- Sort toy animals into pets and farm animals and name them in Spanish.
- Print the game sheet and draw each animal next to its word.
Ideas for the classroom
- Play “Who has the animal card?” around the class.
- Make a class pet survey and a pictogram labelled in Spanish.
- Use animal flashcards to sort nouns into masculine and feminine.
- Extend sentences with colours: tengo un perro negro.
Free printable game and worksheet
The free printable starts with a game sheet, such as a colour-by-answer picture, an answer maze or a secret-code joke, followed by a worksheet. Both use the same checked questions as the online game, and the answers are on the last page. Print it, or save it as a PDF from your browser’s print menu.
Open the free printable game and worksheet
Frequently asked questions
Which animals do children learn in Key Stage 2 Spanish?
Pets come first (dog, cat, rabbit, mouse, fish, bird), then farm and wild animals.
Why is there no tortoise in the game?
Tortuga can mean tortoise or turtle, so it would not have one clear answer.
Is fish pez or pescado?
Un pez is a live fish. El pescado is fish as food.