# Cat



## Hermocrates

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


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## DearPrudence

*-French-*

*chat *(generic)
*matou *(non neutered male (something I learnt here. For me, it's just a big, fatty cat ))
*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"?)


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## translator.cat

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").


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## kusurija

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!


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## Outsider

Portuguese:

gato (generic + male)
gata (female)
gatinho / gatinha (kitten)
bichano / bichana (informal/kitten)
bichaninho / bichaninha (kitty)


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## sokol

*- 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)


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## ahshav

*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


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## Chaska Ñawi

Bolivian Quechua:  michi


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## miguel89

Hi,

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


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## mcibor

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


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## Alxmrphi

*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)


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## Knieja

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


 
a small correction: _kotka_  is a kind of diminutive for: _kocica_


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## sweetpotato

In Filipino/Tagalog:
Cat - Pusa
Kitten - Kuting


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## valo__fan

In Turkish:
Cat-kedi
Kitten-kedi yavrusu


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## Sand_Sea

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 ), "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.


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## Nizo

Esperanto:

kato = cat (generic, no emphasis on gender)
virkato = tomcat
ekskato = gib (neutered male)
katino = queen (female cat)
katido = kitten
kateto = small, young cat


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## Aby R

miguel89 said:


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



Other, at least in Cuba: misu or misi (cat, inf.)


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## Adam S.

In Kazakh:

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


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## origumi

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.


 
Aramaic:

שונרא = shunra


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## TriglavNationalPark

Slovenian:

*mačka* = cat (generic)
*mačka* = cat (female)
*maček* = cat (male)
*mačkon* = large male cat
*mucka* = kitty (twee, female)
*mucek *= kitty (twee, male)
*mačkica* = kitten


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## aparis2

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)


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## MarX

Indonesian (and I suppose Malaysian too):

*kucing*


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## Epilio

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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