how to say “cow” and other domestic animals in Hebrew

 

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פָּרָה

 

Ancient Israel was the nexus of its world, the crossroads of trade routes running from Assyria in the north to Egypt in the south… and from India in the East to Mauretania (ancient Morocco) in the west.
 
גמל
 
 
A popular mode of long-term transportation in those days was by caravan of camels. The Hebrew word for camel is גָּמָל listen and repeat (guess where the English camel comes from). A young female camel is a בִּכְרָה listen and repeat. No word exists for an adult female.
 
תרנגולות
 
 
Here’s a list of other domesticated animals that you might find in a barnyard or on the road:
 
פָּר, פָרָה – bull, cow  listen and repeat
חֲמוֹר, אָתוֹן – donkey (male, female)  listen and repeat
סוּס, סוּסָה – horse, mare  listen and repeat
תַּיִשׁ, עֵז – goat (male, female)  listen and repeat
כֶּבֶשׂ, כִּבְשָׂה – sheep, ewe  listen and repeat
חֲזִיר, חֲזִירָה – pig, sow  listen and repeat
תַּרְנְגוֹל, תַּרְנְגוֹלֶת – rooster, hen  listen and repeat
בַּרְוָז, בַּרְוָזָה – duck (male, female)  listen and repeat
תַּרְנְגוֹל הוֹדוּ, תַּרְנְגוֹלֶת הוֹדוּ – turkey (male, female)  listen and repeat
 
 
for a complete glossary
of farm animals, wild animals
and other topics
Although Hebrew plurals tend to have ים- listen and repeat as the suffix for masculine nouns and וֹת- listen and repeat as the suffix for feminine nouns, this rule often does not hold.
 
עז
 
 
One example is the term for goat milk – חֲלַב עִזִּים listen and repeat – where the female goat עֵז becomes עִזִּים listen and repeat in the plural.
 
by Ami SteinbergerFounder and Director, Ulpan La-Inyan
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