Korean Farm Animals Vocabulary: 25 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Farm Animals Vocabulary at a Glance

Farm words are some of the first nouns in a child's picture book, and they stay useful for food, travel and the countryside. Most are short native words: 소, 말, 닭, 논, 밭. The places and people on the farm are mostly Sino-Korean: 농장 (farm), 축사 (animal shed), 농부 (farmer).

The list is arranged by what you see on a farm: the large animals first, then the smaller ones, then the birds, then the places, then the products.

The list holds 25 words: 16 native Korean, 8 Sino-Korean and 1 mixed. "Mixed" means a word that combines parts of different origins: 당나귀 joins Sino-Korean 당 (唐) and native 나귀 (donkey). Most animal names are native Korean, with two Sino-Korean exceptions, 양 (羊, sheep) and 한우 (韓牛, Korean cattle), while the places, the job and the products are Sino-Korean.

This page expands the farm animals group of Animals. The animals that live in the wild are on Korean Wild Animals Vocabulary.

Which Farm Animal Names Should You Learn First?

Start with five words that every farm picture shows: 소, 돼지, 닭, 말 and 농장. Use the scene to see eight words at once, then press play and the slow button on each of the five and say the word aloud.

Word · 8

1. 1

   소

   Play

   so

   cow; ox

2. 2

   돼지

   Play

   dwaeji

   pig

3. 3

   닭

   Play

   dak

   chicken

4. 4

   말

   Play

   mal

   horse

5. 5

   양

   Play

   yang

   sheep

6. 6

   오리

   Play

   ori

   duck

7. 7

   축사

   Play

   chuksa

   animal shed; barn

8. 8

   밭

   Play

   bat

   field; dry field

소 (so) means cow; ox. The same word covers cow, ox and bull. It is one syllable and is said with a round ㅗ vowel. Example: 소가 풀을 먹어요. (The cow eats grass.)

돼지 (dwaeji) means pig. The first syllable has the vowel ㅙ, said as wae. Example: 돼지가 진흙에서 놀아요. (The pig plays in the mud.)

닭 (dak) means chicken. Alone it is said [닥]. Before the subject marker 이, both final letters return: 닭이 is said [달기]. Example: 닭이 알을 낳아요. (The chicken lays an egg.)

말 (mal) means horse. It is spelled like 말 (speech), and the verb tells you which word is meant: 말을 타요 means to ride a horse. Example: 말을 타요. (I ride a horse.)

농장 (nongjang) means farm. Example: 할아버지가 농장에서 일해요. (My grandfather works at the farm.)

Cattle and Horses

Large animals come first. The group has six words, and they cover cows, calves and horses. The word 소 is very short, but it appears in many compounds.

• 소 is the base of 젖소 (dairy cow), and 송아지 is its young. The words 송아지 and 망아지 name the young of the cow and the horse.
• 한우 is not only a breed: the word is also a food label, and you see it on meat in shops.
• 말을 타요 (I ride a horse) uses the verb 타다 (to ride). The same verb is used for bus, bicycle and train.

Example Sentences

Farm sentences use animal + 이/가 + verb. Use 이 after a consonant and 가 after a vowel: 소가 풀을 먹어요 (the cow eats grass) and 닭이 알을 낳아요 (the chicken lays an egg). For a place, add 에 or 에서: 축사에 소가 많아요 (there are many cows in the barn), and 목장에서 양을 키워요 (they raise sheep on the ranch). The verb 키우다 means to raise or keep an animal or a plant.

How Do You Say Pigs and Sheep in Korean?

Smaller animals follow the large ones. The group has five words, and the pig and the sheep are the best known. The last word, 새끼, is a general word for the young of any animal.

• 새끼 is neutral for animals but offensive when used for a person, so avoid it outside the farm context.

Poultry

Poultry words are short. The group has six words. 수탉 and 암탉 are 닭 (chicken) with 수 (male) or 암 (female) in front. These prefixes once ended in an ㅎ sound, which still turns the ㄷ of 닭 into ㅌ: 수 + 닭 = 수탉.

• 닭 has two final letters, ㄹ and ㄱ. Alone, only ㄱ is heard.
• 수탉 and 암탉 show a pattern: 수 means male and 암 means female, and the same two prefixes give 수컷 (a male animal) and 암컷 (a female animal).
• 병아리 is the chick, and the sentence uses the sound word 삐약삐약, which is how Korean writes the chick's cheep.

How Do You Say Farm Places in Korean?

Farm places matter when you read about the countryside. The group has five words. Two of them, 논 and 밭, are native words that name the two main kinds of farm land: 논 for rice and 밭 for other crops.

• 논 is wet land, used for rice. 밭 is dry land, used for vegetables, beans and other crops.
• 농장 and 목장 both mean a farm, but 목장 is where animals graze, while 농장 is a general farm.
• 축사 is the building where animals stay, from 축 (livestock) and 사 (building).

Farm People and Products

The last group has three words: the person who works on a farm and the two foods most people link with farm animals. All three are Sino-Korean, and 우유 and 계란 are on every supermarket shelf.

• 우유 joins 우 (cow) and 유 (milk). The same 우 is in 한우.
• 계란 and 달걀 both mean egg. 계란 is more common in shops and recipes, and 달걀 is the native word.

Animal Products and Meat Words

Farm animals give food, and the food words are built from the animal words. A few are on this page, and the rest are easy to guess.

The pattern is simple: animal + 고기 (meat). The last row shows how 닭 changes in the middle of a word: 닭고기 is said [닥꼬기], where the ㄹ is silent and the ㄱ of 고기 becomes tense. Revised Romanization writes it dakgogi and does not mark the tense sound. Milk and eggs have their own words, 우유 and 계란, and both are in the list above. Beef has two standard words, 소고기 and 쇠고기; 소고기 is the more common one today.

The animal and the meat are different in one more way: you buy 소고기 at the shop, but you count 소 as animals with 마리. Cows on a farm: 소가 열 마리 있어요 (there are ten cows).

Counting Farm Animals with 마리

Farm animals are counted with the counter 마리. Use native numbers: 한 마리, 두 마리, 세 마리, 네 마리, 다섯 마리. The pattern is animal + 이/가 + number + 마리 + 있어요.

• 소가 세 마리 있어요. (soga se mari isseoyo; There are three cows.)
• 닭이 열 마리 있어요. (dalgi yeol mari isseoyo; There are ten chickens.)
• 말이 두 마리 있어요. (mari du mari isseoyo; There are two horses.)

The numbers one to four shorten before a counter: 한, 두, 세, 네. People take a different counter, 명: 농부 세 명 (three farmers). The full lesson on counters for animals covers all the number forms.

Farm Animal Sounds

Each farm animal has a sound word. The sound word is written in Hangul as a copy of the sound, and it is often doubled. Learning them together with the animal makes both easier to remember.

More animal voices are on the animal sounds page.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Farm words have a few final-consonant changes. The table lists five words, following the Standard Pronunciation rules (표준 발음법) of the 국립국어원.

Revised Romanization is the official romanization system of South Korea, announced on 7 July 2000. It follows most sound changes, such as linking and nasalization, and it spells the written double letters (ㄲ as kk), but it does not show tensing caused by a neighbouring sound: 축사 is said [축싸] but written chuksa. It is a learning aid, so always read the Hangul as well.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each headword and each example sentence has its own audio clip, and the five words in the learn-first section also have a slow clip at 0.8 times the speed. Nothing plays until you press a button. Listen once, repeat aloud, and only then check the romanization.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Farm Animal Names?

• Mixing up 소 (cow) with the Sino-Korean prefix 소- (small), as in 소형 (small size). The animal stands alone as a noun: 소가 풀을 먹어요.
• Confusing 말 (horse) with 말 (speech). Say 말을 타요 for riding and 말을 해요 for speaking.
• Saying both final letters of 닭 (dalk). Alone it is [닥], and with 이 it is [달기].
• Using 새끼 for a person. It is a rude word when used for people, so keep it for animals.
• Using 명 to count animals. People use 명, and animals use 마리.
• Reading the romanization instead of the sounds. Words such as 축사 contain a tense sound, but Revised Romanization shows only chuksa.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Drill these 25 words with the vocabulary flashcard decks: each card shows the Hangul on one side and the meaning on the other, so you can test recall instead of recognition. Print a labelling sheet from the vocabulary worksheets and write the Korean word for each numbered object in the scene above. A simple plan is to learn five words a day, one group at a time.

Try this five-question check, then say the words aloud once more.

Self-Test: 10 Sentences

Fill each blank with a word from this page. Say the whole sentence aloud when you have it. The answers follow the test.

1. ___가 비싸요. (Hanwoo beef is expensive.)
2. ___에서 우유가 나와요. (Milk comes from dairy cows.)
3. ___가 뛰어요. (The foal runs.)
4. ___가 울타리 안에 있어요. (The goat is inside the fence.)
5. 소가 ___를 낳았어요. (The cow gave birth to a calf.)
6. ___이 알을 품어요. (The hen sits on its eggs.)
7. ___는 물을 좋아해요. (Ducks like water.)
8. 할아버지가 ___에서 일해요. (My grandfather works at the farm.)
9. ___에서 양을 키워요. (They raise sheep on the ranch.)
10. 아침에 ___를 마셔요. (I drink milk in the morning.)

Answers: 1. 한우; 2. 젖소; 3. 망아지; 4. 염소; 5. 새끼; 6. 암탉; 7. 오리; 8. 농장; 9. 목장; 10. 우유.

A score of 8 or more suggests the words are settling in. If you scored lower, reread the groups where you missed words.

Where to Go Next

After farm animals, many learners move on to Korean Wild Animals Vocabulary. This list sits inside Animals.

Related pages:

• cow in korean: a single-word entry with pronunciation notes, usage and more example sentences.
• pig in korean: a single-word entry with pronunciation notes, usage and more example sentences.
• chicken in korean: a single-word entry with pronunciation notes, usage and more example sentences.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Cow in Korean?

Say 소 (so). It is one syllable, with a round ㅗ vowel. The same word covers cow, ox and bull, and a dairy cow is 젖소. For a full word entry, see cow in korean.

How Do You Pronounce 돼지 (dwaeji)?

Say dwae-ji. The first syllable starts with ㄷ and glides through the vowel ㅙ, which sounds like the English "way" with a d in front. The second syllable is a plain ji. For a full word entry, see pig in korean.

How Many Farm Animal Names Should I Learn First?

Learn the five starter words, 소, 돼지, 닭, 말 and 농장, then add one group at a time. Five new words a day with a short review of the older ones is a steady pace, and the full list takes about five days. Count the animals with 마리 as you go: 닭 세 마리 (three chickens).

Where Can I Practise Farm Animal Names with Flashcards?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks. Start with the animals, then add the farm places. Review the older cards before you add new ones, so the earlier words do not fade.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

Yes, as a learning aid. It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, the system South Korea has officially used since 7 July 2000, and the page also gives the Hangul for every word. It follows most sound changes but does not show tensing: 축사 is written chuksa but is said [축싸]. Treat the Hangul as the real spelling.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Farm Animal Names?

The vocabulary worksheets page lists the printable sheets. The sheet for this topic is a labelling task built on the same illustrated scene as this page, so you write the Korean word next to each numbered object.

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