Describing an animal in French :
Give the age of an animal in French:
Il / Elle a __ an(s).
=He / She is __ years old.
The breed of an animal in French:
Un chat de race (=A purebred cat) ≠ un chat de gouttiĂšre (= an alley cat)
C'est un exotic shorthair.
= This is an exotic shorthair.
C'est un chien de race American Staff.
= It's an American Staff dog.
đâïž đâïž Un ou une propriĂ©taire d’un animal or un maitre ou une maitresse d’un animal.
= An owner of an animal or a master or mistress of an animal.
DON'T SAY : “une chatte” and "une chienne" in French :
â Unfortunately, the word “chatte” refers to the female sex. It's in fact a vulgar word.
â
So, generally, we say: j’ai un chat, c’est une femelle OR j’ai un chat femelle.
â The word “chienne” is also a vulgar word in some context. It's an insult to a girl.
â
It's less vulgar than "chatte" so it's also not too disturbing to say: j’ai une chienne ou j'ai un chien femelle.
For a pet, we will use the word “adopter” whether or not you paid for the animal or got it in the first place. un refuge (= a shelter) : J’ai adoptĂ© un chat.
In the shelters, you can find des chats ou des chiens abandonnés. (=rescue cats or dogs)
âïž For a female, we say “stĂ©rilisĂ©e” (=sterilized) and for a male, we can say “castrĂ©” (=neutered / spayed)
J’ai fait stĂ©riliser mon chat ou mon chien / J’ai fait castrer mon chat ou mon chien. (= I had my cat or dog neutered / I had my cat or dog spayed)
If the cat or dog is not, we just say: non stérilisé or non castré.
đ Un animal pucĂ©. Une puce Ă©lectronique. (=A chipped animal. An electronic chip.)
A cat or a dog can be vacciné et vermifugé. Every 6 months, we give them a medication to remove the worms from her stomach : Vermifuger son animal. (=Deworm your pet.)
We also give a drug against les puces et les tiques (= fleas and ticks) to the cat and the dog.
The body of the cat đ and the dog đ in French:
Some vocabulary words are going to be quite similar for animals and humans: un corps, un ventre, des cuisses, des fesses, un dos, un cou, une tĂȘte, des oreilles et deux yeux. (=a body, a belly, thighs, buttocks, a back, a neck, a head, ears and two eyes.)
And we have specific vocabulary to describe a cat and a dog in French : son museau (=muzzle). Note that the nose can be called the truffe and its mouth, we can call it the gueule. Both names are common.
Cats and dogs also have dents đŠ· and a langue đ
.
And a cat and a dog will have on either side of his nose: des moustaches. (=whiskers)
We go down a little, we find the pattes.đŸ
For humans, we talk about “jambes” and for animals, we talk about “pattes”. â ïž Except, horses. Horses have "jambes", just like humans.
At the end of the paw, we find its griffes (=claws)and below its coussinets (=pads)
Just above its buttocks, there is the queue (=tail)
For animals, we will say that they have poils (=hair)
Not "cheveux", "les cheveux" it is used for humans. Animals have poils.
And when we talk about all the "poils", we are talking about pelage. Ce chat / Ce chien a un beau pelage. (= This cat / This dog has a beautiful coat.)
A cat miaule. Miauler (=meow)
A cat ronronne especially when we pet him. Ronronner (=Purring)
Donner une caresse / Faire des cĂąlins Ă un animal. (=to pet an animal)
If a cat is afraid, it crache or feule. Cracher / Feuler (=yowl)
A dog sometimes "aboie" when someone knocks on the door. Aboyer. (= to bark)
If there is a danger, a dog can grogner. Grogner (=growl)
Warning, dogs can mordre. Mordre. (to bite)
When you adopt a dog, you must l'Ă©duquer / le dresser. Ăduquer ou dresser un chien. (=to train a dog)
Entrainer un chien, it is rather for a sport discipline.
Accessories for cats and dogs in French :
Un harnais. = A harness.
Cats and dogs can also wear un collier. (=collar)
Une laisse. (= a leash) đđŠș
Une gamelle (= a bowl)
Une gamelle d’eau et une gamelle de croquettes = A bowl of water and a bowl of kibble
A cat or dog can eat des croquettes (= kibble) ou de la pùtée (=mash). Or a cat can also chasser (to hunt) birds or mice.
A cat does its business in its litiĂšre (=a litter).Litter is both the bac Ă litiĂšre (=litter box), but also those little granules that we buy at the supermarket and put in. Une litiĂšre / De la litiĂšre.
When an animal pees and poops, it is said that it fait ses besoins. Faire ses besoins.
When the dog does its business in the street, we pick it up with un sac Ă crotte (=poop bag)
A cat can have un arbre Ă chat at home. Un arbre Ă chat (=a cat tree)
A cat can eat de l’herbe Ă chat. De l’herbe Ă chat. đȘŽ (=catnip)
A cat can also have many jouets (toys) and a griffoir (=scratching post) pour faire ses griffes (scratching).
A cat can sleep in des caisses or cartons đŠ. A cat and a dog can sleep in un panier (=a basket)
We carry a cat or a dog in un sac de transport (=a carrying bag) or une cage (=a cage).
A dog plays with un os. (=a bone)đŠŽ
A dog and a cat can play with une balle đŸ.
To reward a dog, you can give him une friandise (= a treat) đ„
Giving commands to your dog in French :
Viens ici / Au pied đ (= come)
Assis. đȘ (=sit)
Donne la patte. đŸ (=shake hanfds)
CouchĂ©. đ (=down)
Pas bouger. đ (=stay)
C’est bien. đ (=good boy/girl)
Va chercher la baballe. đ đŸ (=go fetch the ball)
RamĂšne la baballe. đ đŸ (=bring back the ball)
See you soon, for new adventures, in French of course! đ«đ·
