Animals in Greek: Dog, Cat and Pet Words With Their Plurals

Learn an animal name together with its article and a useful sentence. This activity uses a fictional pet owner to practise counting animals, naming them and distinguishing whose pet is whose. The owner has three animals; another animal belongs to the owner’s sister. Read carefully before adding them together.

Read about the pets

Keep the article with the noun

Start with ο σκύλος, the dog; η γάτα, the cat; το κουνέλι, the rabbit; and το πουλί, the bird. The articles show grammatical gender. They do not reliably tell you an individual animal’s biological sex. In this reading, the names and grammatical forms do not establish the sex of each pet.

Make the plural as a phrase

Compare ο σκύλος → οι σκύλοι, η γάτα → οι γάτες, το κουνέλι → τα κουνέλια and το πουλί → τα πουλιά. Both the article and noun can change. Practise saying the whole pair rather than adding one universal ending. For an indefinite count, use δύο γάτες or δύο κουνέλια: two cats or two rabbits.

Notice the form after I have

The word-list form is ο σκύλος, but the first sentence says Έχω έναν σκύλο. The dog is the object of έχω, so this phrase uses accusative forms. Compare Έχω μια γάτα and Έχω ένα κουνέλι. Learn these short patterns without assuming the dictionary form can always be inserted unchanged into a sentence.

Separate the owner from the sister

Η αδελφή μου means my sister. The rabbit belongs to her, not to the speaker. Ο σκύλος λέγεται… gives one animal’s name; Οι γάτες λέγονται… gives the cats’ names. Δεν έχω πουλιά says the speaker has no birds. It does not say that nobody else has birds.

Check the details

1. How many animals does the speaker have?
2. Who has the rabbit?
3. Complete the plural: η γάτα → οι ___.
4. Which form appears after έχω: έναν σκύλο or ο σκύλος?

Describe an imaginary owner

Invent a new pet owner with two rabbits and no cats. Write Έχω δύο κουνέλια. Δεν έχω γάτες. Next introduce one dog: Έχω έναν σκύλο. Ο σκύλος λέγεται Άρης. Notice the change from introducing the dog as an object to making it the subject of the next sentence. You can use imaginary animals throughout.

Other ways to say the key phrases

• Έχεις κατοικίδιο; — “Do you have a pet?” to a friend; Έχετε κατοικίδια; — polite, or to several people.
• Ο σκύλος λέγεται Άρης. — neutral; Τον σκύλο τον λένε Άρη. — more conversational; Λέγεται Άρης. — short, once the dog is known.
• ο σκύλος or το σκυλί — both mean “dog”; το σκυλί is very common in everyday speech. A puppy is το κουτάβι.
• η γάτα — cat; το γατάκι — kitten.
• More animals: το άλογο (horse), το ψάρι (fish), η αγελάδα (cow).

Common mistakes

• Keeping the word-list form after έχω: not Έχω ένας σκύλος but Έχω έναν σκύλο.
• Changing only the noun in the plural: not οι γάτα but οι γάτες; not τα πουλί but τα πουλιά.
• Mixing articles: οι σκύλοι but τα πουλιά, because πουλί is neuter.
• Reading η γάτα as “a female cat”: the article shows grammatical gender, not the animal’s sex.

FAQ

How do you say “dog” in Greek? ο σκύλος, or in everyday speech το σκυλί. The plural is οι σκύλοι.

How do you say “cat” in Greek? η γάτα, plural οι γάτες. A kitten is το γατάκι.

How do you ask “Do you have pets?” in Greek? Ask Έχεις κατοικίδια; You can answer Ναι, έχω μια γάτα. or Όχι, δεν έχω κατοικίδια.

Practise talking about family members.