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Bizarre German Animal Names | 25+ Weird Words For Animals

Bizarre German Animal Names

Do you know what Germans mean when they talk about a naked snail? Or what animal the lazy animal is? Let's find out!

Last Updated: 21.08.2025
This article is part of our German blog posts series. Also make sure to check out our online German lessons and our German reading material.

Funny German animal names aren't far and few between. While we already have a post on German animal vocabulary in our vocabulary section, we thought that it would be fun to also give you a list of the funniest German animal names.

Have a look at this short list of funny German animal names:

der Nasenbär
anteater (nose bear)
das Stinktier
skunk (stink animal)
das Faultier
sloth (lazy animal)
die Nacktschnecke
slug (naked snail)
die Fledermaus
bat (flutter mouse)
die Schildkröte
tortoise (shield toad)

Can you guess which animals they refer to? Click on the grey bars to reveal the English translation & the literal German meaning.

In this blog post, we'll introduce you to quite a few of these quirky animal names & explain what components those names are made up for. Enjoy!

Why Do German Animal Names Sound So Funny?

German loves to build compound words. A compound word often combines two or more words to describe what something looks like, or what it does.

This can make animal names very descriptive and very funny. For example, the German name for a sloth is das Faultier which literally means "lazy animal":

faul
lazy
das Tier
animal
das Faultier
sloth

The Most Bizarre German Animal Names

Let's start our list with the most bizarre German animal names first.

1. Anteater (Nose Bear)

der Nasenbär
die Nase
nose
der Bär
bear
der Nasenbär
anteater

Let's start with the German word for bear, which is der Bärbear.

While it's debatable whether anteaters should be classified as a bears, what's definitely not up for discussion is that they have big noses. Really big noses 👃.

In this sense then, the name is as accurate as it's weird. Which makes it easy to remember. It also makes us wonder whether we shouldn't also consider renaming elephants to 'nose-rhinos' - or something like that?

2. Raccoon (Wash Bear)

der Nasenbär
waschen
to wash
der Bär
bear
der Waschbär
raccoon

Next is another Bärbear. Here, again, it's questionable raccoons can really be called bears. But one fact is true: They love to wash.

What do they love to wash? Hint: it's not themselves! If so, then the word for "cat" in German would be Waschtiger 🐱.

The correct answer is that they wash their food before they eat it. That's where the German word for raccoon describes!

3. Bat (Flutter Mouse)

die Fledermaus
Fleder
old word for: to flutter
die Maus
mouse
die Fledermaus
bat

4. Turkey (Threatening Rooster)

der Truthahn
drohen
to threaten
der Hahn
rooster
der Truthahn
turkey

The word for turkey in German is "Truthahn".

Where this name comes from is not entirely clear, but one theory is that it comes from the middle high German word "droten", which means "to threaten", and is the root for the modern German word drohento threaten.

If this is true, Truthahn literally means "threatening rooster" or "threatening chicken".

Most Germans would probably not know this, however, since most of them do not understand middle high German. We also didn't know before researching for this article!

6. Sloth (Lazy Animal)

das Faultier
faul
lazy
das Tier
animal
das Faultier
sloth

7. Armadillo (Belt Animal)

das Gürteltier
der Gürtel
belt
das Tier
animal
das Gürteltier
armadillo

8. Platypus (Beak Animal)

das Schnabeltier
das Schnabeltier
platypus
der Schnabel
beak
das Tier
animal

The German word for platypus is Schnabeltier, which literally translates as beak animal. It consists of the words der Schnabelbeak and das Tieranimal.

9. Skunk (Stink Animal)

das Stinktier
stinken
to stink
das Tier
animal
das Stinktier
skunk

10. Meerkat (Little Earth Man)

das Stinktier
die Erde
soil
das Männchen
little man
das Erdmännchen
meerkat

Literal translation: little earth man
Meaning: meerkat

11. Hippo (Nile Horse / River Horse)

das Nilpferd
der Nil
Nile (river)
das Pferd
horse
das Nilpferd
hippopotamus

Pigs Everywhere

12. Porcupine (Spiky Pig)

das Stachelschwein
der Stachel
spike
das Schwein
pig
das Stachelschwein
porcupine

Now let's have a look at all the different animals that Germans view as pigs. The German word for pig is das Schweinpig. It's combined with the word for spike, which is der Stachelspike.

So the German word for 'porcupine' literally translates as 'spiky pig'. Another translation that would work is "pig with spikes".

In German, bees & scorpions have "spikes" (that they can sting you with) and the thorns of a rose can also sometimes be described as Stachelspike, stinger.

13. Capybara (Water Pig)

das Wasserschwein
das Wasser
water
das Schwein
pig
das Wasserschwein
capybara

Could you have guessed that capybaras are called 'water pigs' in German? We find this one rather difficult to make sense of. Does it look like a pig? Well, a little bit. Does it live in the ocean or in lakes? No. But does it love water and swimming? Yes!

So there you go: das Wasserschweincapybara

14. Guinea Pig (Ocean Pig)

das Seeschwein
das Meer
ocean
das Schwein
pig
das Meerschweinchen
guinea pig

The literal translation of guinea pig in German is is "sea piggy" or "little sea pig" - "Meerschweinchen". Combining the words das Meersea and das Schweinpig gives us "sea pig". But we have das Schweinchenpiggy here, and not just das Schweinpig.

What's the difference? What difference does the "-chen" make?

It's pretty easy: it's a diminutive. Adding "chen" to the end of a word cutifies it in German, hence ‘piggy’ instead of ‘pig’.

15. Dugong (Sea Pig)

das Seeschwein
die See
sea, ocean
das Schwein
pig
das Seeschwein
sea pig

Literal translation: sea pig
Meaning: dugong

Ok this one is a seal animal & it's ending in "-schwein".

Funnily enough: Seeschweine 🐷 are technically Seekühe - which makes absolutely no sense (if you take these terms literally)!

Remember that the German word for guinea pig is Meerschweinchen, while dugong is Seeschwein. While pretty similar in meaning, those are two totally different animals.

Sea Animals

16. Squid (Ink Fish)

der Tintenfisch
die Tinte
ink
der Fisch
fish
der Tintenfisch
squid / octopus

Literal translation: ink fish
Meaning: squid

17. Sperm Whale (Pot Whale)

der Pottwal
der Pott
pot
der Wal
whale
der Pottwal
sperm whale

last animal that lives in the sea in our list

18. Seal (Sea Dog)

der Seehund
die See
sea
der Hund
dog
der Seehund
seal

As you probably know, the German word for dog is der Hunddog. The word Seesea or lake is a bit more tricky, as there are two different meanings, depending on the article. With the article derthe it means lake, with the article diethe it means sea.

In most animal names that include the word Seesea or lake (like Seehund, Seekuh, Seeschwein), it most likely refers back to die Seesea.

So, the German word for seal, der Seehundseal literally translates as sea dog - not lake dog.

19. Turtle & Tortoise (Shield Toad)

die Schildkröte
das Schild
shield
die Kröte
toad
die Schildkröte
turtle / tortoise

The literal translation for turtle in German is "shield toad". The word Schildkröte consists of the words Schild & Kröte.

So in a very literal sense, Germans think of turtles as toads with armour.

Very strange. It makes sense though. I guess 😅

Naked Snails & Garbage Insects

20. Butterfly (Smashing Thing)

der Schmetterling
schmettern
to clash / to smash
der Schmetterling
butterfly

Literal translation: clashing thing
Meaning: butterfly

If you translate the German word for butterfly literally, you get something along the lines of "smashing thing". The ending -ling just turns it into a noun (Häuptling, Lehrling).

Andererseits Gibt es das nicht so ?

21. Slug (Naked Snail)

die Nacktschnecke
nackt
naked
die Schnecke
snail
die Nacktschnecke
slug

Literal translation: naked snail
Meaning: slug

22. Spider (Weaver)

die Spinne
etw. spinnen
to weave sth.
die Spinne
spider

23. Dung Beetle (Garbage Beetle)

der Mistkäfer
der Mist
garbage
der Käfer
beetle
der Mistkäfer
dung beetle

Literal translation: garbage beetle
Meaning: dung beetle

That's it for now! Do you know any other German animals with funny names? Send us a message on Instagram or Twitter!

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