By Topic
Animal Spelling Words
Animal Spelling Words are essential for school and daily life! Many have tricky spellings from Greek, Latin, or other origins. Master these 50 words and ace your exams!
Each word shows the common wrong spelling and a memory trick. Take the quiz to test yourself!
🦁 Wild Animals
1
rhinocerosrhinocerous ✗⭐⭐⭐
ry-NOS-ur-us
Horn-nosed animal
💡 RHINO + CEROS
“The rhinoceros charged.”
2
chameleonchamaeleon ✗⭐⭐⭐
kuh-MEEL-yun
Colour-changing lizard
💡 CHAMEL + EON
“A chameleon on a branch.”
3
pterodactylterodactyl ✗⭐⭐⭐
ter-uh-DAK-til
Flying dinosaur
💡 P silent! PTERO + DACTYL
“A pterodactyl fossil.”
4
hippopotamushippopotomus ✗⭐⭐
hip-oh-POT-uh-mus
River horse
💡 HIPPO + POT + AMUS
“A hippopotamus in water.”
5
leopardlepard ✗⭐⭐
LEP-urd
Spotted big cat
💡 LEO + PARD (O inside!)
“A leopard at Ranthambore.”
6
cheetahcheeta ✗⭐⭐
CHEE-tuh
Fastest land animal
💡 CHEETAH — H at end!
“The cheetah runs fast.”
7
elephantelefant ✗⭐⭐
EL-uh-funt
Largest land animal
💡 PH = F! ELEPHANT
“An Indian elephant.”
8
giraffegiraf ✗⭐⭐
jih-RAF
Tallest animal
💡 2F: giraFFe
“The giraffe’s long neck.”
9
gorillagorila ✗⭐⭐
guh-RIL-uh
Large ape
💡 2L: goriLLa
“A silverback gorilla.”
10
crocodilecrocadile ✗⭐⭐
KROK-uh-dyle
Large reptile
💡 CROCO + DILE (O not A!)
“A crocodile in the river.”
🐠 Sea Creatures
11
dolphindolfin ✗⭐⭐
DOL-fin
Smart sea mammal
💡 PH = F! DOLPHIN
“Dolphins are intelligent.”
12
octopusoctopous ✗⭐⭐
OK-tuh-pus
8-armed creature
💡 OCTO + PUS (8 arms!)
“The octopus has 8 arms.”
13
jellyfishjelly fish ✗⭐
JEL-ee-fish
Stinging sea creature
💡 JELLYFISH = 1 word!
“Don’t touch the jellyfish.”
14
whalewale ✗⭐⭐
WAYL
Largest sea mammal
💡 W + HALE (WH pattern!)
“A blue whale.”
15
tortoisetortise ✗⭐⭐
TOR-tus
Slow shelled reptile
💡 TORTOISE — OISE ending!
“The tortoise and the hare.”
16
salmonsammon ✗⭐⭐
SAM-un
Pink fish
💡 L is silent! SALMON
“Grilled salmon.”
17
seahorsesea horse ✗⭐
SEE-hors
Tiny ocean creature
💡 SEAHORSE = 1 word!
“A cute seahorse.”
18
piranhapirhana ✗⭐⭐
pih-RAH-nuh
Flesh-eating fish
💡 PI + RANHA
“Piranhas have sharp teeth.”
19
penguinpengiun ✗⭐⭐
PEN-gwin
Flightless bird
💡 PENG + UIN (not IUN!)
“Emperor penguin.”
20
mosquitomosquitto ✗⭐⭐
muh-SKEE-toh
Biting insect
💡 MOSQU + ITO (1T!)
“Mosquito bite.”
🐛 Insects & Small Creatures
21
butterflybuterfly ✗⭐⭐
BUT-ur-fly
Winged insect
💡 BUTTER + FLY (2T!)
“A beautiful butterfly.”
22
caterpillarcaterpiller ✗⭐⭐
KAT-ur-pil-er
Butterfly larva
💡 CATERPILL + AR (not ER!)
“A hungry caterpillar.”
23
cockroachcockroch ✗⭐⭐
KOK-rohch
Kitchen pest
💡 COCK + ROACH
“Kill the cockroach!”
24
centipedecentipeed ✗⭐⭐
SEN-tih-peed
100-legged creature
💡 CENTI + PEDE (PED=foot!)
“A centipede crawled by.”
25
scorpionscorpian ✗⭐⭐
SKOR-pee-un
Stinging creature
💡 SCORPI + ON (not AN!)
“A desert scorpion.”
26
grasshoppergrass hopper ✗⭐
GRAS-hop-er
Jumping insect
💡 GRASSHOPPER = 1 word!
“A green grasshopper.”
27
dragonflydragon fly ✗⭐
DRAG-un-fly
Flying insect
💡 DRAGONFLY = 1 word!
“A colourful dragonfly.”
28
cockroachcocroach ✗⭐⭐
KOK-rohch
Pest insect
💡 COCK + ROACH (CK!)
“Cockroaches everywhere!”
29
beetlebeatle ✗⭐⭐
BEE-tul
Hard-shelled insect
💡 BEETLE (≠ Beatles band!)
“A dung beetle.”
30
chrysaliscrysalis ✗⭐⭐⭐
KRIS-uh-lis
Butterfly cocoon
💡 CH = K! CHRYSALIS
“The chrysalis opened.”
🐕 Pet & Farm Animals
31
LabradorLabredor ✗⭐⭐
LAB-ruh-dor
Dog breed
💡 LABRA + DOR
“A friendly Labrador.”
32
DalmatianDalmation ✗⭐⭐
dal-MAY-shun
Spotted dog
💡 DALMAT + IAN (not ION!)
“101 Dalmatians!”
33
parrotparot ✗⭐⭐
PAR-ut
Talking bird
💡 2R: paRRot
“A green parrot.”
34
squirrelsquirel ✗⭐⭐⭐
SKWIR-ul
Bushy-tailed rodent
💡 2R: squiRRel
“The squirrel gathered nuts.”
35
guinea pigginea pig ✗⭐⭐
GIN-ee pig
Small pet
💡 GUINEA (not GINEA!)
“A cute guinea pig.”
36
hamsterhampster ✗⭐⭐
HAM-ster
Small pet rodent
💡 HAMSTER — no P!
“My pet hamster.”
37
budgerigarbudgerigar ✗⭐⭐⭐
BUJ-uh-ree-gar
Small parrot (budgie)
💡 BUDGERI + GAR
“A colourful budgerigar.”
38
ChihuahuaChiwawa ✗⭐⭐⭐
chih-WAH-wah
Tiny dog breed
💡 CHI + HUA + HUA (Mexican!)
“A tiny Chihuahua.”
39
RottweilerRottweiller ✗⭐⭐
ROT-vy-ler
Guard dog
💡 ROTT + WEILER (German!)
“A loyal Rottweiler.”
40
dachshunddashund ✗⭐⭐⭐
DAKS-hund
Sausage dog
💡 DACHS + HUND (German: badger dog!)
“A cute dachshund.”
🦅 Bird & Reptile Words
41
eagleeagel ✗⭐
EE-gul
Large bird of prey
💡 EAGLE — LE ending!
“A bald eagle soaring.”
42
peacockpecock ✗⭐
PEE-kok
National bird of India
💡 PEA + COCK
“A beautiful peacock.”
43
sparrowsparro ✗⭐⭐
SPAR-oh
Small common bird
💡 2R: spaRRow
“Sparrows on the window.”
44
flamingoflamigo ✗⭐⭐
fluh-MING-oh
Pink wading bird
💡 FLAM + INGO (not IGO!)
“Pink flamingos.”
45
toucantocan ✗⭐⭐
TOO-kan
Colourful-beak bird
💡 TOU + CAN
“A rainforest toucan.”
46
chameleonchamealeon ✗⭐⭐⭐
kuh-MEEL-yun
Colour-changer
💡 CHAMEL + EON
“A chameleon blending in.”
47
iguanaigauna ✗⭐⭐
ih-GWAH-nuh
Large lizard
💡 I + GUANA
“A green iguana.”
48
pythonpiton ✗⭐⭐
PY-thon
Large snake
💡 PYTHON (not PITON!)
“A rock python.”
49
mongoosemongeese ✗⭐⭐
MONG-gooss
Snake-fighting animal
💡 MONGO + OSE
“The mongoose vs cobra.”
50
amphibianamfibian ✗⭐⭐
am-FIB-ee-un
Water & land animal
💡 PH = F! AMPHIBIAN
“Frogs are amphibians.”
📐 5 Spelling Rules
Break Long Words Into Parts
Long topic words are easy when split: ex+er+cise, gym+nas+tics, tech+no+logy.
✅ exercise, gymnastics, technology, temperature
Greek/Latin Roots Are Clues
BIOL=life, THERM=heat, GRAPH=write, PHON=sound, CHRON=time.
✅ biology, thermometer, photograph, telephone, chronology
PH = F in Science/Medical Words
From Greek: pharmacy, physical, phenomenon, chlorophyll.
✅ pharmacy, physical, phenomenon, chlorophyll, phone
Don’t Skip Syllables When Writing
Say every part: tem-per-a-ture, com-pet-i-tion, in-de-pen-dent.
✅ temperature, competition, independent, comfortable
Topic Word Lists = Exam Gold
Review topic-specific spelling before every exam. These words appear in essays and answers!
✅ Practice 10 topic words daily before exams
🐝 Spelling Quiz
1. Which is correct?
2. Which is correct?
3. Which is correct?
4. Which is correct?
5. Which is correct?
6. Which is correct?
7. Which is correct?
8. Which is correct?
9. Which is correct?
10. Which is correct?
🔀 Word Scramble
Unscramble the letters
CEHINOORRS
DHILNOP
BEFLRTTUY
AABDLORR
AEEGL
✏️ Fill in Missing Letters
Type the missing letters
rhi_oceros
dol_hin
but_erfly
Lab_ador
eag_e
❓ FAQ
Why are animal spelling words hard to spell?
Many animal spelling words come from Latin, Greek, or French with foreign spelling patterns. Plus, we often skip syllables in speech but must include them in writing.
How to prepare for exams?
Make a list of 20 key topic words before each exam. Write 3 times, spell aloud, use in sentences. Test with a partner.
Do word roots help?
Yes! Learning 20 common Greek/Latin roots helps spell hundreds of words. This page shows the roots for each word.
How many words should I know per topic?
50 per topic is excellent exam preparation. This page covers the most commonly tested words.
Should I practise daily?
Yes! 10 words per day, reviewed weekly. Consistent practice beats cramming every time.
🐝 All Spelling Bee Guides — 49 Topics
By Grade Level
Spelling Rules
I Before E Rule — When It Works & When I
Silent E Rule — Magic E Changes Everythi
Doubling Consonants — When to Double the
Plurals — S, ES, IES & Irregular Plurals
Suffixes — When to Drop E & When to Keep
Y to I Rule — When Y Changes to I
Prefixes — No Spelling Change!
IE vs EI — Complete Word List
-Able vs -Ible — Which Ending Is Correct
-Tion vs -Sion vs -Cian — Which Ending?