Horse is шы and dog is хьэ in both dialects; cat is джэду in Kabardian and чэтыу in Adyghe. Sixteen animals are in the tables below, with audio.
Some animal names are the same in Kabardian (East Circassian) and Adyghe (West Circassian), like the horse and the dog; many others differ by a sound or two, like the wolf, дыгъужь and тыгъужъ. Here they are as the Circassian app teaches them in its “Farm Animals” and “Wild Animals” units.
Every word here is a word the app teaches, checked against a second source: the Kabardian–Russian dictionary (Apazhev and Kokov, 2008), the app’s Adyghe dictionary, the app’s audio course (its scripts were reviewed by a native speaker of each dialect) or the Kabardian and Adyghe Wikipedias. A word that could not be checked this way is not on the page.
Animals in Kabardian and Adyghe
Kabardian (East Circassian) is on the left, Adyghe (West Circassian) on the right. Tap the speaker button to hear a word: the audio is the app’s own, the same as in its lessons. The Latin line under each word is the app’s spelling.
Farm animals
| In English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| horse | шыshy | шыshə |
| cow | жэмzhem | чэмыchemə |
| goat | бжэнbzhen | пчэныpchenə |
| sheep | мэлmel | мэлыmelə |
| chicken, hen | джэдdzhed | чэтыchetə |
| rooster | адакъэadaqe | атакъэataqe |
| dog | хьэh'e | хьэhe |
| cat | джэдуdzhedu | чэтыуchetəw |
Wild animals and birds
| In English | Kabardian | Adyghe |
|---|---|---|
| bear | мыщэmyshche | мышъэməshhe |
| wolf | дыгъужьdyghuzh' | тыгъужъtəghuzhh |
| fox | бажэbazhe | баджэbaje |
| hare, rabbit | тхьэкIумэкIыхьtkh'ek'umek'ykh' | тхьакIумкIыхьthak'umk'əh |
| snake | блэble | блэble |
| fish | бдзэжьейbdzezh'ey | пцэжъыйptsezhhəy |
| bird | бзуbzu | бзыуbzəw |
| eagle | бгъэbghe | – |
An empty cell means no second source confirmed the app’s word there; “Good to know” says why.
The words on this page are from the “Farm Animals” and “Wild Animals” units (Section 2, My World) in the Circassian app’s Kabardian and Adyghe courses. The lessons teach them with audio and short quizzes, and bring back the ones you miss sooner.
In a sentence
These sentences are from the app’s audio course, with the course’s own translation. Its scripts were reviewed by a native speaker of each dialect.
This is my cat
Good to know
Brother or horse? In Adyghe, шы is both “horse” and “brother”: the app’s Adyghe dictionary lists both meanings, and the Adyghe course teaches both. Kabardian says къуэш for brother.
Dog and barley. In both dialects хьэ means “dog” and also “barley”, in the Kabardian–Russian dictionary (p. 533) and in the app’s Adyghe dictionary alike.
Eagles. The Kabardian–Russian dictionary has бгъэ for the eagle (p. 37) and къуршыбгъэ, the mountain eagle (p. 287). The Adyghe lesson word for eagle is not in the table: the app’s Adyghe dictionary gives it as “kite”, so it waits for a native speaker’s check.
The Kabardian horse. The horse has its own page: the Kabardian horse breed, its history and the words around it.
Test yourself
Five questions with this page’s words. Pick a dialect, then choose the right word.
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In the app, questions like these are in every lesson, and the words you get wrong come back for review sooner.
More Circassian words by topic
Questions
How do you say horse in Circassian?
шы, in Kabardian and in Adyghe alike.
What are the farm animals in Kabardian and Adyghe?
Kabardian: шы (horse), жэм (cow), бжэн (goat), мэл (sheep), джэд (chicken, hen), адакъэ (rooster), хьэ (dog), джэду (cat). Adyghe: шы (horse), чэмы (cow), пчэны (goat), мэлы (sheep), чэты (chicken, hen), атакъэ (rooster), хьэ (dog), чэтыу (cat).
How do you say “This is my cat”?
Мыр си джэдущ. in Kabardian and Мыр сичэтыу. in Adyghe, as the app’s audio course says it.
How do you say wolf and bear?
Wolf is дыгъужь in Kabardian and тыгъужъ in Adyghe; bear is мыщэ and мышъэ.
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Sources
- Circassian App lessons, Kabardian and Adyghe courses (October 2026), units: Farm Animals, Wild Animals.
- Circassian App audio course (Beginner), Kabardian lessons 9, 10, 11 and 13; Adyghe lessons 9, 10, 11 and 13. Each lesson’s script was reviewed by a native speaker of its dialect before the course was recorded; the translations are the course’s own.
- M.L. Apazhev, Dzh.N. Kokov, Kabardino-cherkessko-russky slovar (Kabardino-Cherkess–Russian Dictionary), Nalchik: Elbrus, 2008, the Kabardian dictionary in the app’s Translate screen: жэм (p. 112), бжэн (p. 42), мэл (p. 320), джэд (p. 93), адакъэ (p. 20), хьэ (p. 533), джэду (p. 93), мыщэ (p. 331), дыгъужь (p. 91), бажэ (p. 31), тхьэкIумэкIыхь (p. 435), блэ (p. 48), бдзэжьей (p. 41), бгъэ (p. 37).
- Adyghe dictionary in the app’s Translate screen (3,499 entries, from dovlet.info): шы, чэмы, пчэны, мэлы, чэты, атакъэ, хьэ, чэтыу, мышъэ, тыгъужъ, баджэ, тхьакIумкIыхь, блэ, пцэжъый, бзыу.
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