Cat

H

Hermocrates

Senior Member
Italian & British English (bilingual)
Hello, fellow forumers!

Could you please tell me how to say "cat" in different languages? :)
(I couldn't find an older thread about this very topic.)

I'm interested in any terms you can use in your language for a domestic cat, so feel free to include also specific terms such as terms for a male/female cat, a kitten, or colloquial terms and/or terms of endearment for a pet cat, etc... :) Anything that comes to your mind.

A few examples:

-English-
cat (generic)
tom-cat (male), gib (neutered male)
queen (female)
kitten (young)
puss, pussycat, kitty (informal) or moggie (informal for a mongrel)


-Italian-
gatto (generic and/or male)
gatta (female)
gattino, micino (young)
micio (informal)

Thanks in advance! :)

Rye
 
    • -French-

    chat (generic)
    matou (non neutered male (something I learnt here. For me, it's just a big, fatty cat :D))
    chatte (female)
    chaton (young)
    minou, minet (informal)

    (I don't know if I should mention that "chatte" et "minou" are very informal to refer to the female sex, up to such a point I would not use "chatte"?)
     
    Hi. It could be useful for you to spend some time browsing the different Wikipedia entries for cat, chat, gato, etc., where you can also find some links to the Wiktionary. The dictionaries of synonims can give you a lot of information as well. My mother tongue is Catalan, where the cat is called gat (male), gata (female), gató (kitten), mix and mixet (colloquial and diminutive) or xina (colloquial term for "she-cat").
     
    Hello, all!
    I thing You may fulfill some terms in .xls file in this thread.
    Here You are copy of part about Felis silvestris f. catus:
    In Czech/Slovak:
    generic: kočka domácí/mačka domáca
    male: kocour/kocúr
    castrated male: felix/?/去勢猫(kyose:neko)
    female: kočka/mačka
    female, when ruts: mrouská se/?
    kitten: kotě/mača
    female, when gived birth: okotila se/okotila sa
    informal: číča [this is not copied]/?
    miaows: mňouká/mňaučí, mravčí
    purrs: přede/pradie

    In Lithuanian/Japanese:
    generic/female: katė/猫(neko),雌猫(mesuneko)
    male: katinas/雄猫(osuneko)
    kitten: kačiukas[m.];katytė[f.]/子猫(koneko)
    female, when gived birth: atsivedė kačiukus/猫が子を産んだ(nekoga ko(w)o unda)
    informal: kica, kicė
    miaows: miaukia, miauksi/にゃー(nya: )
    purrs: murkia/ゴロゴロ(gorogoro)

    Happy new year to all!
    Thank Rye for new information!
     
    Last edited:
    Portuguese:

    gato (generic + male)
    gata (female)
    gatinho / gatinha (kitten)
    bichano / bichana (informal/kitten)
    bichaninho / bichaninha (kitty)
     
    - German -
    Katze (generic)
    Kater (male), kastrierter Kater* (castrated male)
    Katze (female), sterilisierte Katze* (sterilised female)
    Kätzchen (general) (young)
    Mieze (informal - I think that's what Germans use most but there might be others)

    * Tomcats usually are castrated while queens are sterilised, for obvious reasons.

    - Austrian: standard language; dialect (Upper Austria - Western Mühlviertel) -
    Katze; (dialect) Kotz (generic)
    Kater; (dialect) Koda (male)
    Katze; (dialect) Kadarin, (also) Kotz (female)
    Katzerl, Junge; (dialect) Katzl, Junge (young)
    (colloquial) Mutzerl, Mutzl, Mutzi, Mutz (informal)
     
    Hebrew

    Cat - חתול khatul
    Tomcat - חתול khatul
    Queen - חתולה khatula
    Kitten(m) - חתלתול khataltul or גור חתולים gur khatulim
    Kitten(f) - חתלתולה khataltula or גורת חתולים gurat khatulim
     
    Hi,

    In Spanish:
    gato (generic or male cat)
    gata (female cat)
    gatito, -a (kitten)
    minino, -a (cat, inf.)
    micifuz (cat, inf.)
     
    In Polish

    cat (generic) - kot
    tom-cat (male) - kocur
    gib (neutered male) - ?
    queen (female) - kotka
    kitten (young) - kotek, kociak
    puss, pussycat, kitty (informal) - kiciuś, kicia
     
    English
    tabby - (referred to a tabby cat, but sometimes said about other cats)
    pusscat (my Grandad always says this one)
    whiskers - (such a common name it sort of implies cat)
    feline
    fleabag - (can be used jokingly or seriously, the cat that comes in and steals my cat's food I sometimes call fleabag)

    Icelandic
    köttur (general)
    læða (female cat)
    bleyða (female cat)
     
    mcibor said:
    In Polish

    cat (generic) - kot
    tom-cat (male) - kocur
    gib (neutered male) - ?
    queen (female) - kotka
    kitten (young) - kotek, kociak
    puss, pussycat, kitty (informal) - kiciuś, kicia
    Click to expand...

    a small correction: kotka is a kind of diminutive for: kocica
     
    In Romanian :
    "pisică" (general word), but "pisică" it's also the name for she-cat), "motan" for tom-cat, "pisoi" or "pisoiaş" for little cat (kitten), "cotoi" (more informal, the same as "motan", big tom-cat :D), "mâţă "- she-cat (informal like "cotoi" ) and that's about all I know...oh and they can be slightly modified by using some suffixes, but these are the most common. :)
     
    In Kazakh:

    Мысық [mısıq] - cat
    Еркек мысық [yerkek mısıq] - tom-cat
    Ұрғашы мысық [urghaşı mısıq] - female cat
    Мысықтың баласы [mısıqtıng balası] - kitten
     
    Arabic:

    Mahaodeh said:
    Here they are:
    male/female

    قط/قطة = qiTT / qiTTa
    بس/بسة = biss / bissa
    هر/هرة = hirr / hirra
    سنور/سنورة = sanoor / sanoor
    ضيون/ضيونة = Dhayoon / Dhayoona
    خيطل/خيطلة = khaiTal / khaiTala

    I know the origin of number 2 and 3 based on Arabic dictionaries: biss is the sound that Arabs usually make call animals with, like when you want to call a cat you say "bis bis bis bis"; hirr was taken from the sound of purring in the cat. However, there is no mention of the etymology of the other four.
    Click to expand...

    Aramaic:

    שונרא = shunra
     
    Spanish:
    felino/felina (feline)

    Russian:
    кошка (cat; also female cat)
    кот (tomcat)
    котёнок (kitten)
    киса (pussy, puss)
    кошечка (pussycat)
    киска (pussy)
    мышелов (mouser) [comes from мышь meaning mouse]

    English:
    grimalkin (especially an elderly female cat)
    mouser (cats kept to catch mice)
    malkin (archaic term)
     
    Asturian

    Gatu (generic, male)
    Gata (female)
    Gatos (generic, males)
    Gates (females)
    Gatín (male kitten)
    Gatina (female kitten)

    In some areas, due to metaphony, gatu becomes guetu.
     
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