Onomatopoeia
ONOMATOPOEIA
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An onomatopoeia (オノマトペ) is a word or group of words in a language which have their meaning indicated by the sounds they mimic. Examples of English onomatopoeia include "meow", "roar", "buzz", "boom", "snap", "bang", and so on. |
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Japanese onomatopoeia are divided into two main groups, gisei-go (擬声語) and gitai-go (擬態語). |
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GISEIGO
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擬声語 gisei-go are words which describe a sound. Many gisei-go are written in katakana. Some examples are: |
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Japanese |
Rōmaji |
English meaning |
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ワンワン |
wan-wan |
the sound of a dog barking |
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クンクン |
kun-kun |
the sound of sniffing |
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ニャニャ, |
nya-nya, nyan-nyan |
the sound of a cat meowing |
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コケコッコ |
koke-kokko |
the sound of a chicken or rooster clucking |
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パチパチ |
pachi-pachi |
the sound of hands clapping, bonfire |
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ザーザー |
zaa-zaa |
sound of rain falling (heavy rain) |
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ポツポツ |
potsu-potsu |
sound of water dripping or rain drops |
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バンバン |
ban-ban |
sound of gunshooting (bang-bang) |
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GITAIGO
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擬態語 gitai-go are words that describe an action, state, or emotion by an associated sound. Some examples are: |
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Japanese |
Rōmaji |
English meaning |
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いそいそ |
iso-iso |
to move around with liveliness |
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いちゃいちゃ |
icha-icha |
the sound of two people making out |
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うかうか |
uka-uka |
to be careless or absentminded |
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うつらうつら |
utsura-utsura |
to drift between sleep and wakefulness |
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うとうと |
uto-uto |
to doze off |
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おどおど |
odo-odo |
to feel uneasy |
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ムシャムシャ |
musha-musha |
the sound of someone eating or munching on something |
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ウハウハ |
uha-uha |
jumping |
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ぴょんぴょん |
pyon-pyon |
jumping |
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ワイワイ |
wai-wai |
the sound of children playing |
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ガヤガヤ |
gaya-gaya |
the sound of crowd, mob |
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どきどき |
doki-doki |
to throb with a fast heart-beat |
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