Animal names in Malayalam — the farmyard, the forest, the birds and the ones nobody invited — plus the one dog word that will get you into trouble. I am Dr. Reshmi R. Nair, an applied linguist from Kerala. I have taught hundreds of learners to speak Malayalam as it is actually spoken. THE FARMYARD പശു - pashu - cow കാള - kala - bull, ox എരുമ - eruma - buffalo ആട് - aadu - goat കോഴി - kozhi - chicken താറാവ് - tharavu - duck പന്നി - panni - pig കുതിര - kuthira - horse പൂച്ച - poocha - cat THE TWO WORDS FOR DOG — BE CAREFUL നായ - naya - dog, the neutral and slightly literary word പട്ടി - patti - dog, the ordinary spoken word, and a serious insult when used of a person Use നായ when in doubt. THE WILD ONES മൃഗം - mrugam - animal ആന - aana - elephant കടുവ - kaduva - tiger പുലി - puli - leopard കരടി - karadi - bear കുരങ്ങ് - kurangu - monkey കാട്ടുപന്നി - kattupanni - wild boar അണ്ണാൻ - annan - squirrel പാമ്പ് - pambu - snake മൂർഖൻ - moorkhan - cobra THE BIRDS പക്ഷി - pakshi - bird കിളി - kili - a small bird, also an affectionate word for a person കാക്ക - kaakka - crow കുയിൽ - kuyil - the koel, whose call is the sound of the hot season മീൻകൊത്തി - meenkothi - kingfisher, literally fish-pecker വേഴാമ്പൽ - vezhambal - the great hornbill, the state bird of Kerala THE UNWELCOME കൊതുക് - kothuku - mosquito ഉറുമ്പ് - urumbu - ant ചിലന്തി - chilanthi - spider പല്ലി - palli - the house gecko, harmless, lucky, and it eats mosquitoes അട്ട - atta - the leech, a certainty in the Ghats in the monsoon TWO SENTENCES TO CARRY ഇവിടെ ആന ഉണ്ടോ? - ivide aana undo? - are there elephants here? ആ പക്ഷിയുടെ പേരെന്താണ്? - aa pakshiyude perenthaanu? - what is that bird called? Which animal name in your language sounds nothing like Malayalam? Comment below. #LearnMalayalam #Malayalam #Kerala