Ever wanted to find out how to say “zebra” in Swahili, or even “leopard” in Zulu? With the following table, you’ll be able to identify the most common animals of the African bush in local languages. Translations include Afrikaans, Nama/Damara, Ndebele, Shona, Siswati, Swahili, Tswana, Venda and Zulu.
While the table is far from complete, it gives a good overview of common African animal names.
Download your FREE table below:
(Right-click and “Save Link As…” to save it to your computer)
Enjoy! 😉
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NB: Some of the names come from Clive Walker’s book “Signs of the Wild.” This compact field guide to the identification of Southern African mammals based on their spoor, droppings and skulls has been accepted as the standard work on the subject. This edition offers up-to-date information on identification through signs.
Highly recommended! 🙂
Until next time, have a “fantabulous” day.
Michael (aka Africa Freak)
I have been given the privilege of naming 2 baby cubs in the Kgalagadi. Do you have any knowledge of appropriate names for the area & the word must start with M. Quite a task as I don’t see many M words in Khoisan or Twana language.
That’s a tough question, Linda! 🙂
What kind of cubs are you referring to (lions?)?
Here’s 100 Khoisan words to get you started:
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/history/ehret/Khoisan100word.pdf
Some of them which you may find useful include magadza (“long” in Sandawe), mtana (“good” in Hadza), manjano (“yellow” in Sandawe), or even malundi (“cloud” in Hadza).
There’s also words like mana (“meat” in Hadza), maxa (“man” in Sandawe), ma (“to give” in Khoekhoe), mu (“to see” in Khoekhoe), and manaa (“to know” in Sandawe).
I hope this helps! 😉
I’d be very grateful if you could tell me the Zulu words for the following creatures, please?
Grey Duiker
Woodland Dormouse
Rock Hyrax
Side-Striped Jackal
Slender Mongoose
Water Mongoose
Red Hartebeest
Nyala
Hi Martin,
Thanks for your comment.
Not sure about “woodland dormouse” (perhaps someone else can help out?), but here’s the rest of your list in Zulu:
Common duiker = Mpunzi
Rock hyrax (dassie) = Mbili
Side-striped jackal = Mpungutshe
Slender mongoose = Chakide
Water mongoose = Mvuzi
Red hartebeest = Nduluzele
Nyala = Inyala
Hope this helps, take care! 😉
Michael
What is a wild pig in Ndebele?
Bushpig in Ndebele is “ngulugunda”.
Ingulungundu
This is a very valuable site!!
What is the name for rabbit & hare In Zulu?
Thank you for your help.
Hare in Zulu is “logwaja”!
Rabbit in Zulu is “unogwaja”!
Hope this helps! 😉
I love this! I could have used it during my last trip through Kenya. Thanks for sharing this info.
Hey guys! 🙂
Thanks a million for the kind words, it’s always nice to hear that your work is appreciated! 🙂
I must admit some of the animal names are “impossible” to pronounce…and I had to read them a couple of times before I could spell them correctly… 😉
Btw, if anyone can fill in some of the blanks…please be my guest! 🙂
Oh, and yeah, just thought I’d add a couple more translations just for the fun of it. Here it goes:
Some of my Antelope favs! 🙂
Bushbuck
Afrikaans: Bosbok.
Sotho: Tshoso.
Ndebele, Zulu, Swazi, Xhosa: Imbabala.
Shona: Dsoma.
Shangaan: Mbvala.
Venda: Mbavhala, Tshishosho.
Lozi: Mbabala.
Tswana: Serolobotlhoko.
Yei: Ungulungu.
Nama/Damara: !Garapiris.
Nyala
Afrikaans: Njala.
Shona: Nyara.
Siswati: Litagayezi.
Ndebele, Zulu, Shangaan, Venda: Inyala.
Kudu
Afrikaans: Koedoe.
Zulu: Mgankla.
Xhosa: Qudu.
Shangaan: Hlongo.
Siswati: Shongololo.
Sotho, Venda, Tswana: Tholo.
Shona: Nhoro.
Ndebele: Ibhalabhala.
Lozi: Tolo.
Yei: Unzwa.
Nama/Damara: Xaib.
Springbok
Afrikaans: Springbok.
Herero: Menyeh.
Tswana: Tshephe, Maponye.
Sotho: Tshephe.
Nama/Damara: || Gûb.
Source: Signs of the Wild, by Clive Walker.
Cheerios! 🙂 😉
Kudu is shongololo? In Siswati?
Yes, funnily enough! 🙂
Great post! I frequently get travelers interested in learning some Swahili or at least interested in the language before taking their trip to Africa. This PDF is a great way to familiarize yourself and your family with the animals of Africa and the culture of Africa before leaving for your trip!
It’s also exciting and highly rewarding to learn a new language–even if it is just a few words!