Learn the names of baby animals in French with puzzles

Puzzles are a fantastic resource that you can use to teach your kids French, especially if French toys are difficult to find where you live. My eldest daughter loves them, and it all started with her very first puzzle: the two-piece Mummy & Baby Jigsaw Puzzle by Orchard Toys. You can playfully introduce and practice the names of baby animals in French as your child explores these puzzles.

This vocabulary list is specific, but you can also use the word bébé (baby) followed by the parent animal name, too.

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Mummy & Baby Jigsaw Puzzle by Orchard Toys

Elephant – un éléphant (male), une éléphante (female)

Baby elephant, calf – un éléphanteau

Tiger – un tigre (male), une tigresse (female)

Baby tiger, cub – un tigreau

Bear – un ours (male), une ourse (female)

Baby bear, cub – un ourson

Whale – une baleine (male and female)

Baby whale, calf – un baleineau

Giraffe – une girafe (male and female)

Baby giraffe, calf – un girafeau

Penguin – un manchot (male), une manchote (female)

Baby penguin, chick – no specific name, so we call it un bébé manchot

I Love You Match-Up Puzzles, Farm Babies by Mudpuppy

Rabbit – un lapin (male), une lapine (female)

Baby rabbit, kitten – un lapereau

Hen – un coq (male), une poule (female)

Chick – un poussin

Cow – un taureau (male), une vache (female)

Baby cow, calf – un veau

If you really want to get specific, check out the differences between boeuf, taureau, vache, génisse, and veau.

Sheep – un mouton, un bélier (male), une brebis (female)

Baby sheep, lamb – un agneau (male), une agnelle (female)

Horse – un cheval (male), une jument (female)

Baby horse, foal – un poulain

Pig – un cochon (male, but also used as a general term for pig)

If you’re interested in finding out the definition of the various terms related to pigs, there are many to explore: cochette, truie, coche, verrat, porc charcutier, and goret.

Baby pig, piglet – un porcelet

Related: Learning French while visiting a sunflower farm

Have you introduced baby animals in French? If so, what tools and resources have you used to make learning them fun?