English speakers call a pet "he" or "she" and say "the dog barks" or "the cat meows" with a special verb for every animal. When they come to Malayalam they look for "he" and "she" for the cat, and a separate sound verb for every creature. Good news: in everyday Malayalam an animal is usually just അത് (athu) = it, and one friendly verb covers most animal calls. In this episode: • Pets and the magic word kutti • Farm animals • Garden and wild creatures • Looking after a pet • Animal talk with children • Language bridge • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: പൂച്ച (poocha) = cat നായ (naaya) = dog, the neutral word പട്ടി (patti) = dog, also very common at home പൂച്ചക്കുട്ടി (poochakkutti) = kitten നായക്കുട്ടി (naayakkutti) = puppy പശു (pashu) = cow പശുക്കുട്ടി (pashukkutti) = calf ആട് (aadu) = goat ആട്ടിൻകുട്ടി (aattinkutti) = baby goat കോഴി (kozhi) = hen, chicken മുട്ട (mutta) = egg കോഴിമുട്ട (kozhimutta) = hen's egg താറാവ് (thaaraavu) = duck കാക്ക (kaakka) = crow കിളി (kili) = small bird അണ്ണാൻ (annaan) = squirrel തവള (thavala) = frog ഉറുമ്പ് (urumbu) = ant കൊതുക് (kothuku) = mosquito എലി (eli) = rat, mouse മീൻ (meen) = fish ആന (aana) = elephant പൂച്ചയ്ക്ക് ഭക്ഷണം കൊടുത്തോ? (poochaykku bhakshanam kodutho?) = did you feed the cat? വെള്ളം കൊടുക്ക് (vellam kodukku) = give it water പേടിക്കണ്ട, അത് കടിക്കില്ല (pedikkanda, athu kadikkilla) = don't be scared, it won't bite അതിനെ തൊടല്ലേ (athine thodalle) = don't touch it കാക്ക കരയുന്നു (kaakka karayunnu) = the crow is cawing Learn Spoken Malayalam at Home: a complete course in everyday spoken Malayalam for English speakers. Native Malayalam pronunciation, every phrase in Malayalam script, Manglish and English, plus a language bridge comparing Malayalam with other world languages. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.