# Dog and Cat (gender)



## SerinusCanaria3075

Good afternoon.
When it comes to animals, do the names change completely when the animal is male or female? Or can there simply be vowel alternation at the end?
Dog: El perro, La perra
Cat: El gato, La gata
Lion: El leon, La leona

Most animals in Spanish can simply end in -o (m.) and -a (f.) but what about Romanian, is it similar to English in this case?
Dog = Câine 
Bitch/Female Dog = ?


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## OldAvatar

SerinusCanaria3075 said:


> Good afternoon.
> When it comes to animals, do the names change completely when the animal is male or female? Or can there simply be vowel alternation at the end?
> Dog: El perro, La perra
> Cat: El gato, La gata
> Lion: El leon, La leona
> 
> Most animals in Spanish can simply end in -o (m.) and -a (f.) but what about Romanian, is it similar to English in this case?
> Dog = Câine
> Bitch/Female Dog = ?




male dog = câine
female dog = căţea
male cat = pisoi, motan
female cat = pisică
male goat = ţap
female goat = capră
male sheep = berbec
female sheep = oaie
male cow = bou, taur
female cow = vacă

These are the most common differences between male and female animals... At least, that's what comes into my mind right now...

One of the most used suffixes for female animals is -*oaică*, from Slavic -_ika _+ connection vowel _o_. Examples:

bear = urs, ursoaică
tiger = tigru, tigroaică
lion = leu, leoaică
mouse = şoarece, şoricioaică
snake = şarpe, şerpoaică
wolf = lup, lupoaică
etc.


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## SerinusCanaria3075

> One of the most used suffixes for female animals is -*oaică*, from Slavic -_ika _+ connection vowel _o_.


Thanks, I was totally unaware of that, although there are some animals which only have one gender (I think, or at least more leaned in favor towards a certain gender) and for the most part the _horse_ and _cow_ usually have different/separate names to distinguish gender in all languages.
gândac (m.)
I don't think you can do f./m. with a snake in Spanish but it's interesting that Romanian has the -*oaică*** suffix, I wonder if it's also possible for a _fish_, _shark_...


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## parakseno

SerinusCanaria3075 said:


> I don't think you can do f./m. with a snake in Spanish but it's interesting that Romanian has the -*oaică* suffix...



Well, I haven't heard anyone use "şerpoaică" for a female snake, but I have heard this word to speak of a very bad and deceiving woman.



SerinusCanaria3075 said:


> I wonder if it's also possible for a _fish_, _shark_...


This suffix is not that universal... Actually there are many animals that do not have distinct forms for male/female. "Fish" is "peşte" be it male or female.


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## Trisia

I've heard "peştioiacă" used, but that was either because the speaker actually owned fish - when he wanted to differentiate (otherwise, it's just "peşte-peşti," like Parakseno said) - or as a colloquial name for females born under Pisces.

I would personally slap the freak who would dare call me that (but then again I'm not a Pisces)


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## OldAvatar

parakseno said:


> Well, I haven't heard anyone use "şerpoaică" for a female snake, but I have heard this word to speak of a very bad and deceiving woman.
> 
> 
> This suffix is not that universal... Actually there are many animals that do not have distinct forms for male/female. "Fish" is "peşte" be it male or female.



Well, I wouldn't call a fish full of fry _„peşte”_. For me, that's for sure a _„peştioaică”_.


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