Spanish Animal Words: Say Hello in Spanish

Words to Know

¡Hola!

Spanish for "hello!"

Say ¡Hola! when you meet a friend!

Adiós

Spanish for "goodbye!"

Say adiós when you leave!

Perro

Spanish for "dog"

My perro wags his tail!

Gato

Spanish for "cat"

The gato says meow — or should I say, miau!

Mariposa

Spanish for "butterfly" — sounds silly and fun!

The mariposa flutters by!

Elefante

Spanish for "elephant" — sounds a lot like English!

The elefante has a long trunk!

Check What You Learned

Fun Facts

• Spanish is the official language in 21 countries worldwide

  Source: Instituto Cervantes, "El español: una lengua viva," 2023 report

• "Hola" means "hello" in Spanish; "adiós" means "goodbye"

  Source: Real Academia Española dictionary

• "Perro" = dog, "gato" = cat, "vaca" = cow, "cerdo" = pig

  Source: Real Academia Española

• "León" = lion, "elefante" = elephant, "mono" = monkey, "rana" = frog

  Source: Real Academia Española

• "Elefante" is a cognate — similar to English "elephant" — from Latin "elephantus"

  Source: Real Academia Española

• Spanish pronunciation is phonetic: each letter generally has one consistent sound

  Source: Real Academia Española, phonetics guide