What does llama mean?
Word: Llama
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Llama means a large South American animal with a long neck and a woolly coat, kept for its wool and for carrying loads.
How do you spell llama?
Syllables: lla - ma
Tricky part: You hear only one l at the start, but the word begins with two, which looks odd in English.
Watch out for: lamma, lamah
Memory tip: Picture a pair of these animals side by side: their two long necks are the two l's at the start.
Llama in a sentence
Example 1: A friendly llama nibbled grass at the edge of the farm.
Example 2: We bought a scarf woven from llama wool.
Example 3: Children queued to feed a llama at the city zoo.
Fun Fact
The name came into English through Spanish from Quechua, a language spoken in Peru and its neighbours. Spanish speakers often say the first sound almost like a y.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning.
1. chimpanzie 2. rhinocerus 3. llama 4. porcupain
a) a long-necked pack animal of the high mountains
b) a small animal covered with long sharp quills
c) a small African ape that lives in groups
d) a huge horned animal with very thick skin
Show answer
a) a long-necked pack animal of the high mountains. Llama is correct here; chimpanzee, rhinoceros and porcupine are misspelt.
Mingle-Mangle
The sentence hides a jumbled word. Choose the word:
A woolly mlaal watched us from the hillside as our bus climbed slowly past.
a) llama
b) hyena
c) zebra
d) lemur
Show answer
a) llama. Two l's and two a's point to one animal only.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
On our holiday in Peru we watched a shaggy white llamma carry sacks of wool up a steep mountain path.
a) steep
b) shaggy
c) sacks
d) llamma
Show answer
d) llamma. One m sits in the middle of the word.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
ll_m_
a) o,a
b) a,e
c) a,a
d) u,a
Show answer
c) a,a. Both gaps take the same vowel, an a.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which mountains are llamas most closely linked with?
a) the Andes
b) the Alps
c) the Himalayas
d) the Rockies
Show answer
a) the Andes
2. Which animal belongs to the same family as the llama?
a) the camel
b) the sheep
c) the deer
d) the horse
Show answer
a) the camel
