Animals

1. Саг

   Sag

   Dog

   Usage

   Villages and pastures keep loose guard dogs; follow it with саг газид to say a dog bit you

2. Гурба

   Gur-ba

   Cat

   Usage

   Colloquially also пишак; both are understood

3. Асп

   Asp

   Horse

   Usage

   Still used for travel and hauling in the Pamirs and mountain villages

4. Хар

   Khar

   Donkey

   Usage

   The main pack animal in mountain villages; give way to donkeys on narrow tracks

5. Гов

   Gov

   Cow

   Usage

   A pointing card for saying there is a cow here, or for warning about one

6. Гӯсфанд

   Gus-fand

   Sheep

   Usage

   Central to herding; flocks move up to summer pastures, so you meet them on mountain roads

7. Буз

   Buz

   Goat

   Usage

   A pointing card for saying there is a goat here, or for warning about one

8. Шутур

   Shu-tur

   Camel

   Usage

   Seen in the dry lowlands; not found high in the Pamirs

9. Хук

   Khuk

   Pig / Wild boar

   Usage

   For food use гӯшти хук from the Dietary & Allergies category; this card also works to warn about wild boar in riverside woods

10. Мурғ

    Murgh

    Chicken

    Usage

    A pointing card for saying there is a chicken here, or for warning about one

11. Мурғобӣ

    Mur-gho-bi

    Duck

    Usage

    A pointing card for saying there is a duck here, or for warning about one

12. Паранда

    Pa-ran-da

    Bird

    Usage

    The general word for bird; show it when you do not know the species

13. Уқоб

    U-qob

    Eagle

    Usage

    Often circling over Pamir gorges; useful when someone asks what that bird is

14. Кабк

    Kabk

    Chukar partridge

    Usage

    A common bird in the Tajik mountains, often in songs and poetry; you also see them kept in cages

15. Моҳӣ

    Mo-hi

    Fish

    Usage

    A pointing card for saying there is a fish here, or for warning about one

16. Гург

    Gurg

    Wolf

    Usage

    Lives in the mountains; herders use this word when they talk about losing livestock

17. Рӯбоҳ

    Ru-boh

    Fox

    Usage

    A pointing card for saying there is a fox here, or for warning about one

18. Хирс

    Khirs

    Bear

    Usage

    Brown bears live in the mountains; ask locals with this word before hiking alone

19. Паланги барфӣ

    Pa-lan-gi bar-fi

    Snow leopard

    Usage

    A rare high-altitude Pamir species, also called бабри барфӣ or озодапаланг; sightings are rare

20. Морхӯр

    Mor-khur

    Markhor

    Usage

    The national animal of Tajikistan - a wild goat with spiral horns, living in the southern mountains

21. Архар

    Ar-khar

    Argali (Marco Polo sheep)

    Usage

    The big wild sheep of the Pamir plateau; the Marco Polo sheep is its subspecies. Also called ғурм or меши кӯҳӣ

22. Бузи кӯҳӣ

    Bu-zi ku-hi

    Ibex

    Usage

    The wild goat you see on Pamir cliffs; the Siberian ibex is бузи кӯҳии сибирӣ

23. Оҳу

    O-hu

    Gazelle

    Usage

    Found on dry lowland steppe; in poetry the word is also a metaphor for beautiful eyes

24. Суғур

    Su-ghur

    Marmot

    Usage

    Burrows in Pamir highland meadows; the local species is суғури думдароз, the long-tailed marmot

25. Харгӯш

    Khar-gush

    Hare / Rabbit

    Usage

    A pointing card for saying there is a hare here, or for warning about one

26. Каламуш

    Ka-la-mush

    Rat

    Usage

    Use it to report one at your lodging; заҳри каламуш means rat poison

27. Муш

    Mush

    Mouse

    Usage

    A pointing card for saying there is a mouse here, or for warning about one

28. Кӯршабпарак

    Kur-shab-pa-rak

    Bat

    Usage

    Also spelled кӯршапарак; seen around caves and old buildings at dusk

29. Мор

    Mor

    Snake

    Usage

    Venomous species (афъӣ, гюрза) live in the lowlands; if bitten, use this with the emergency cards

30. Калтакалос

    Kal-ta-ka-los

    Lizard

    Usage

    A pointing card for saying there is a lizard here, or for warning about one

31. Сангпушт

    Sang-pusht

    Tortoise

    Usage

    The steppe tortoise, common on lowland grassland in spring; the word literally means stone-back

32. Қурбоқа

    Qur-bo-qa

    Frog

    Usage

    Also spelled қурбоққа

33. Каждум

    Kazh-dum

    Scorpion

    Usage

    Found in the dry south; always shake out your shoes in the morning when camping

34. Пашша

    Pash-sha

    Mosquito

    Usage

    Common by rivers and in the lowlands in summer; say Пашша бисёр аст to mean there are a lot of mosquitoes

35. Магас

    Ma-gas

    Fly

    Usage

    A pointing card for saying there is a fly here, or for warning about one

36. Мӯрча

    Mur-cha

    Ant

    Usage

    A pointing card for saying there is a ant here, or for warning about one

37. Занбӯри асал

    Zan-bu-ri a-sal

    Honeybee

    Usage

    Занбӯр alone also covers wasps; use the full form when explaining a sting allergy

38. Тортанак

    Tor-ta-nak

    Spider

    Usage

    A pointing card for saying there is a spider here, or for warning about one

39. Шапалак

    Sha-pa-lak

    Butterfly / Moth

    Usage

    Tajik uses шапалак for both butterflies and moths

40. Ҳашарот

    Ha-sha-rot

    Insect

    Usage

    The general word for insects; use it when you were bitten by something you cannot name

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