Tag Archives: animals

Spanish Nature Names & Animal Talk

Names Of Things In Nature / Nombres De Las Cosas En La Naturaleza

Animals,

Here you will find the names of trees, flowers and animals in Spanish. Some things in Dominican Republic have names that are different than other Spanish speaking countries. Also, how to use animals traits to describe people and the sounds animals make in Spanish.

Trees | Animals | Using Animal Traits to Describe People | Animal Talk | El viejo Juancho tenía una granja (Old McDonald Had a Farm), the song |

A very important Dominicanism to remember is the word vaina. If you do not know what something is just point at it and say la vaina / the thing. This can cover up for many unknown words!

Trees / Árboles

*Almendra – Almond trees. These trees can get quite large and produce a single fruit inside of a flour type bud.

A beautiful Almendra Tree
A beautiful Almendra Tree

*Almacigo – Mastic tree
*Arce – Maple
*Avellano – Hazel
*Caimito – Star apple
*Cajuil – Cashew
*Caoba – Mahogany tree. This tree is the National Tree of Dominican Republic
*Cedro – Cedar
*Cerezo – Cherry tree
*Flamboyant/ Framboyan – Flame Tree or Royal Poinciana. This tree flowers in late spring/ early summer and is very beautiful with its bright red umbrella of flowers.

A beautiful Flamboyant Tree with it's bright red flowers.
A beautiful Flamboyant Tree with it’s bright red flowers.

*Guasábara – Species of cactus that grows in the barren zones of the Dominican Republic
*Higuera – Fig tree

The Grown In Dominican Republic page.

Animals / Animales

(details about many of the Creatures found in Dominican Republic)

*Ardilla – Squirrel
*Cabron – a large male goat
*Cacata – tarantula-type spider (picture and information about the cacata)
*Chinchilín – blackbird
*Chivo – goat
*Cocuyo or Cucuyo – firefly, lightning bug
*Gallina – chicken
*Huron – ferret
*Mono – monkey
*Paloma – Pigeon
*Pavo – turkey
*Peje, Pecao – fish
*Viralata – used to describe a mixed breed dog, and the way they search for food. “Living out of the can”
*Zorrillo – skunk

Using animals traits to describe people

*Burro – (donkey) a gross person
*Conejo – (rabbit) someone whose front teeth are large or missing
*Jirafas – (giraffes) women who excel because of their high stature
*Leon – (lion) a person who always wants to solve a problem by fighting, using fists
*Gallo/ Gallito – (rooster) a person who always wants to solve a problem by fighting, using fists
*Liebre – (hare) a person that cannot be caught when he flees
*Perro – (dog) one that does not have morals and lacks education
*Puerco – (pig) person with bad hygiene
*Pulpo – (squid) type of person that wants everything to be the way he wants it to be, grabs for all of life
*Ratón – (mouse) someone that is of small build
*Rata – (rat) low person without morals or values
*Toro – (bull) person with great force and resistance, bull-headed

How Animals Talk / Cómo los Animales Hablan

Remember the song Old McDonald Had a Farm (The Spanish version is called El Viejo Juancho Tenía Una Granja is on the bottom of this page)? Well, in Spanish the animals make different sounds. Yes, animals living in Spanish speaking countries also speak Spanish. Even though when hearing a Spanish speaking animal make their given noise the sound is the same in my ear, when it hits a Spanish speaking person ear, I guess, the sound is different. The person who’s eardrums are intercepting the sound interprets the animal talk into their own language.

One really never thinks of an animal speaking a different language until you are confronted with it. When in Dominican Republic try calling a cat or dog the way you usually call them. They will ignore you completely (unless you have food that is). They are probably laughing at you inside their little animal heads!

Remember, the little lip popping, kissy sound one makes to call a dog in one country can (and does) mean Attack! in Dominican Republic. A cat will ignore you completely if you call it as you would in English but as soon as you say misu, misu it (may) then pay you attention. I wonder what Doctor Doolittle would do…..

The bees say buzzz in English and Spanish.
The bees say buzzz in English and Spanish.

*Bee – English = bzzzz / Las abejas hacen en español (the bees say in Spanish) = bzzz
*Bird – English = tweet tweet / Los pájaros trinan hacen en español de españa (Spain) = pío pío, Argentina Spanish = pi pi
*Cat – English = meow / El Gato ladra hace español = miau
*Chick – USA English = peep peep / British English=cheep cheep / Español = pío pío
*Cow – English = moo / Las vacas mugen hacen en español = muuu
*Crow – English = caw / Español = cruaaac, cruaaac
*Dog – English = bow wow, arf, woof, ruff ruff / El perro ladra hace español = guau guau or wow wow
*Donkey – English = hee-haw / Costa Rica Spanish = iii-aah, iii-aah
*Dove, pigeon – English = coo / La paloma hace en español = cu-curru-cu-cú
*Duck – English = quack quack / Los Patos hacen en español de españa (Spain) = cuá cuá / Argentina Spanish=cuac cuac
*Frog – English = ribbit / Spain Spanish = La rana croa hace encruá-cruá / Argentina Spanish = berp / Peru Spanish = croac, croac
*Goat – English = baaah / El chivo hace en español = bee bee
*Hen – English = cackle and cluck / Español = coc co co coc
*Horse – English = neigh or whinny / El caballo relincha hace / Colombia Spanish = iiiiou / Paraguay Spanish = ioohoho / Peru Spanish = iiiiii / Spain Spanish = híiiiiiiiii
*Owl – English = hoo / El búho hace en español = uu uu
*Pig – English = oink oink / El cerdo hace en español = oink-oink
*Rooster – English = cock-a-doodle-doo / El gallo canta hace / Spain Spanish = kikirikí / Argentina Spanish = ki-kiri-ki

The chickens in the tree say ki-kiri-ki
The chickens in the tree say ki-kiri-ki

*Sheep – English = baaah / Las ovejas balan; hacen / Spain Spanish = bee / Argentina Spanish = meeee
*Tiger – English = grrrrrr / El tigre hace Spain Spanish = grgrgrgr / Venezuela Spanish = gggrrrrrrr

(my little joke – Tiger – Dominican person speaking in English “Hey BABY”! IE: definition of a tigre in Dominican Spanish is a person who is a womanizer)

El viejo Juancho tenía una granja (Old McDonald Had a Farm)

translated by Paola Ferate-Soto

El viejo Juancho tenía una granja, iai, iai, oo.
Y en su granja tenía un marrano, iai, iai, oo.
Con su oink, oink aquí, con su oink, oink allí,
Aquí oink, allí oink, en todos lados oink, oink.
El viejo Juancho tenía una granja, iai, iai, oo.

The rest of the verses continue:
Vaca: mu, mu
Pollito: pío, pío
Caballo: neigh, neigh
Oveja: bee, bee
Perro: guau, guau
Gato: miau, miau
Pato: cuac, cuac

Creatures Of The Dominican Republic

The Creatures of Dominican Republic

On the island of Hispaniola in the country of Dominican Republic we do have some wildlife to speak of. I’m not referring to the human-type of wild life, although this is here in abundance. The creatures, big and small are what I’m speaking of. The endangered, extinct and the creatures that are unique and thrive on this tropical island.

Here we have no large predatory animals to speak of. Nothing that is going to eat you alive, except for the mosquitoes (which I think should be considered as being the new national bird), and the no-seeums, that I have no idea what they look like but they leave their itchy red mark on the flesh. There are no really dangerous creatures on our island, other than maybe a rare crocodile, cayman, a scorpion, or a spider. Most tourists and people living in the cities never come across these things. Even the Dominican tarantula known as the Cacata is not an easy crawly to see. They usually don’t live in the cities and they usually only come out at night. Most of the cacatas/ tarantulas I have seen were thin anorexic spindly looking arachnids. I know people that have seen giant car-covering spiders carrying a cat away in its dripping fangs, lol. Really there are some very large spiders here but not quite that big.

Page 1 – Nocturnal, 2 – More, 3 – Winged, 4 – Pictures

Hispaniolan Hutia/ Capromyidae

Agouta or Juron/ Hispaniolan Solenodon

Cacata/ Tarantula

Manatee

Jaragua Sphaero

Heteropoda Venatoria/ Huntsman Spider

Noseeums (biting insects)

Hispaniola Boa/ Boa de la Hispaniola

The Hispaniolan Woodpecker/ Pájaro Carpintero de la Hispaniola

The Village Weaver / Madame Sagá

Black Witch Moth

Vine Sphinx Moth

Under The Dominican Sea

Miscelaneous Pictures

A turkey and some Guinnea Hens.
A turkey and some Guinnea Hens.

Dominican Republic has no creatures that will kill you

Here we have no large animals to speak of. Nothing that is going to eat you alive, except for the mosquitoes (which I think should be considered as being the new national bird), and the no-seeums, that I have no idea what they look like but they leave their itchy red mark on the flesh. There are no really dangerous creatures on our island, other than maybe a rare crock, cayman, a scorpion, or a spider. Most tourists and people living in the cities never come across these things. Even the Dominican tarantula, known as the Cacata, is not an easy crawly to see. They usually don’t live in the cities and they usually only come out at night. Most of the cacatas/ tarantulas I have seen were thin anorexic spindly looking arachnids. I know people that have seen giant car-covering spiders carrying a cat away in its dripping fangs, lol. Really there are some very large spiders here but not quite that big.

Parrots are nesting in the holes of a wall.
Parrots are nesting in the holes of Ruinas El Hospital San Nicolas de Bari.

The Birds

The island seems to be inhabited mostly by birds, of all types and colors and lizards, of many sizes and shapes. There are the basic domestic animals not native to the island. There are many cows, goats, chickens and horses. You may even encounter a rabbit that escaped from captivity and made its home in the countryside. There used to be wild boars but they are almost gone and have only been spotted in the mountains where there is little human population.