Japanese Onomatopoeia: Sound Words and Their Meaning Explained

A Complete Guide to Japanese Onomatopoeia

Lex in Japan

Japanese onomatopoeia, also known as オノマトペ is one of the most fascinating and expressive parts of the language.

Far beyond the typical “bang” or “meow” you might find in English, Japanese has a vast and nuanced system of sound-based words that describe everything from animal noises to emotional states.

These words aren’t just found in manga and anime—they’re part of everyday speech, used to vividly describe feelings, actions, textures, and even silence.

In this guide, we’ll explore the different categories of Japanese onomatopoeia

Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || Introduction

Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || Those That Represent Human or Animal Voices

Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || Those That Represent Sounds in Nature

Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || Those That Represent the State of Inanimate Objects

Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || Those That Represent the State of Living Things

Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || Those That Relate to a Person’s Psychological State or Spirit

Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || FAQs

Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || Introduction

Onomatopoeia in Japanese is called オノマトペ in Japanese.

Japanese is a particularly rich language in onomatopoeia, and the Japanese Onomatopoeia Dictionary contains as many as 4,500 words of onomatopoeia.

Considering that English has 1,000 to 1,500 onomatopoeia and French has about 600, it is clear that Japanese has an extremely large number of onomatopoeia.

Onomatopoeia is frequently used in everyday conversation and is also an important part of the techniques of expression in cartoons and other forms of expression.

Why is there so much onomatopoeia in the Japanese language? One reason is that Japanese verbs express only the basic meaning of actions.

For example, the verbs look, see, witness, gaze, and glance in English are basically translated as 見る みる miru in Japanese.

Of course, each verb is translated according to its nuance, and onomatopoeia is used for this purpose. 

For example, gaze is じっと見る じっとみる jitto miru and glance is ちらっと見る ちらっとみる chiratto miru.

Such onomatopoeia is frequently used in manga. Not only the characters just gazing at someone, onomatopoeia such as じっ ji is also written on the screen as a sound effect. The abundance of onomatopoeia may also be closely linked to the development of manga in Japan.

By increasing your knowledge of Japanese onomatopoeia, you will be able to enjoy anime and manga even more.

Linguist Kindaichi Haruhiko – 金田一春彦 きんだいちはるひこ classified onomatopoeia into five types.

The five categories are: those that represent human or animal voices, those that represent sounds in nature, those that represent the state of inanimate objects, those that represent the state of living things, and those that relate to a person’s psychological state or spirit.

In the following sections, we will look at what each of these categories includes according to this classification.

Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || Those That Represent Human or Animal Voices

 A dog’s cry is considered a “wan-wan” and a cat’s a “nya-nya.”

Puppies are sometimes referred to as “wanko” in Japanese, which is an onomatopoeic word “wan” for the sound of a puppy’s cry, with the diminutive “ko” added.

The clucking sound of a chicken is “koke-kokko.” When you say “koke-kokko,” Japanese people immediately think of chickens.

A baby’s cry is “ogya,” and birth is often described as “born with a cry of ogya” in Japanese.

 “Gera gera” represents laughing in a somewhat vulgar way. “Pecha kucha” also represents chatter, and it implies that they are wasting time and talking nonsense.

Below are onomatopoeia for other animal sounds:

ONOMATOPOEIAENGLISH MEANING
けろけろ
kero kero
a cry of frogs
めーめー
me- me-
a cry of sheeps
モーモー
mo-mo-
a cry of cows
カーカー
ka- ka-
a cry of crows
ヒヒーン
hihi-n
a cry of horses
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Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || Those That Represent Sounds in Nature

ONOMATOPOEIAENGLISH MEANING
ざあざあ
zaa zaa
the sound of heavy rain
ぽつぽつ
potsu potsu
the sound of starting rain
ゴロゴロ
goro goro
the sound of ball rolling, the sound of thunder
ぐるぐる
guru guru
around and around

 “Zaa zaa” is the sound of heavy rain.

“Potsu potsu” is also used for rain, but it implies that the rain has just started. Let’s see how to use them in example sentences.

雨がざあざあ降っている。

あめがざあざあふっている。

ame ga zaa zaa hutte iru.

Rain is falling in torrents.

ぽつぽつと雨が降り始めた。

ぽつぽつとあめがふりはじめた。

potsu potsuto ame ga huri hajimeta.

It began to rain in drops.

雷がゴロゴロ鳴っている。

かみなりがゴロゴロなっている。

kaminari ga gorogoro natteiru.

Thunder is rumbling.

ボールがゴロゴロ転がっていく。

ボールがゴロゴロころがっていく。

bo-ru ga gorogoro korogatteiku.

The ball rolls down the ramp.

飛行機が上空をぐるぐる回っている。

[ひこうきがじょうくうをぐるぐるまわっている。]

hikouki ga joukuu wo guruguru mawatte iru.

Airplanes are circling overhead.

Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || Those That Represent the State of Inanimate Objects

 In this section, we present some onomatopoeias that describe inanimate objects.

kira kira

きらきら

shining

星がきらきらしている。
ほしがきらきらしている。
hoshi ga kirakira shiteiru.

The stars are twinkling.

きらきらした宝石。
きらきらしたほうせき
kira kira shita houseki.
Sparkling jewels.

tsuru tsuru

つるつる

smoothly

道が凍ってつるつるしている。
みちがこおってつるつるしている。
michi ga kootte tsuru tsuru shiteiru.

The road is icy and slippery.

gucha gucha

ぐちゃぐちゃ

soppy, messy, soggy

彼の部屋はぐちゃぐちゃだ。
かれのへやはぐちゃぐちゃだ。
kare no heya wa gucha gucha da.
His room is a mess.

順番がぐちゃぐちゃになっている。
じゅんばんがぐちゃぐちゃになっている。
junban ga gucha gucha ni natteiru.
The order is messed up.

don yori

どんより

glazed, clouded

空がどんよりしている。
そらがどんよりしている。
sora ga donnyori shiteiru.
The sky is dreary.

neba neba

ねばねば

sticky

納豆はねばねばしている。
なっとうはねばねばしている。
natto ha nebaneba shiteiru.
Natto is sticky.

These expressions are very visual, and they give a nuance that appeals to the intuition. In formal situations, formal expressions using Kanji characters are used, but onomatopoeia makes the expressions more lively and Japanese-like.

Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || Those That Represent the State of Living Things

 Here are some onomatopoeias used primarily with respect to human behavior.

uro uro

うろうろ

hanging around

知らないやつがうろうろしている。

しらないやつがうろうろしている。

shiranai yatsu ga urouro shiteiru.

A stranger is wandering around.

ふらり

hurari

aimlessly

ふらりと旅に出たい。

ふらりとたびにでたい。

hurari to tabini detai.

I want to go on a wander and travel.

gungun

ぐんぐん

steadily

彼の能力はぐんぐん伸びている。

かれののうりょくはぐんぐんのびている。]

kare no nouryoku ha gungun nobiteiru.

His abilities are growing rapidly.

bata bata

ばたばた

noisily

彼はいつもばたばたしている。

かれはいつもばたばたしている。

kare wa itsumo batabata shiteiru.

He is always fumbling around.

noro noro

のろのろ

slowly

のろのろと歩いていると迷惑だ。

のろのろとあるいているとめいわくだ。

noronoro to aruiteiruto meiwaku da.

It’s annoying when you walk around slowly.

bo-tto

ボーっと

absentmindedly

彼はいつもボーっとしている。

かれはいつもボーっとしている。

kare wa itsumo bo-tto shiteiru.

He is always in a daze.

These onomatopoeias about action also show a more dynamic nature of behavior than expressions using Chinese characters. In anime and manga, in particular, onomatopoeia is used to add dynamism to the movements of characters.

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Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || Those That Relate to a Person’s Psychological State or Spirit

Here are some onomatopoeias used to describe the human mental state.

ira-ira

いらいら

irritated

彼は腹が減っていらいらしている。

かれははらがへっていらいらしている。

kare wa hara ga hette iraira shiteiru.

He is hungry and irritable.

uttori

うっとり

fascinated

彼女は彼の声にうっとりしている。

かのじょはかれのこえにうっとりしている。

kanojo wa kare no koe ni uttori shiteiru.

She is entranced by his voice.

zuki-zuki

ずきずき

throb

古傷がずきずきと痛む。

ふるきずがずきずきといたむ。

hurukizu ga zukizuki to itamu.

Old wounds ache tingly.

shin-miri

しんみり

mournfully

葬式ではみんなしんみりとしていた。

そうしきではみんなしんみりとしていた。

soushiki dewa minna shimiri to shiteita.

Everyone was mournful at the funeral.

わくわく

waku-waku

excited

明日はイベントがあるので、彼女はわくわくしている。

あすはイベントがあるので、かのじょはわくわくしている。

asu wa ibento ga arunode, kanojo wa wakuwaku shiteiru.

She is excited about the event tomorrow.

Onomatopoeia about emotions is the most effective way to show emotions in a dynamic way. Japanese people are sometimes said to be poor at expressing emotions, and this may be partly due to the fact that in Japanese, emotions are expressed through onomatopoeia, which is difficult to translate into English.

Onomatopoeic expressions tend to be avoided in official situations. However, in casual situations, they are very useful because they can intuitively express feelings and emotions.

Unlike kanji, onomatopoeia is not something that has a clear reason for being expressed that way.

Therefore, it is necessary to accumulate one’s own understanding of onomatopoeia by coming into contact with many examples of actual usage.

The onomatopoeia introduced here are just a few examples. Did you find something you liked? Let’s start by learning the onomatopoeia that fits your own sense!

Do you know any onomatopoeia in Japanese? Share with us here!

Japanese Onomatopoeia Words || FAQs

What is ‘onomatopoeia’ in Japanese?

Onomatopoeia is オノマトペ in Japanese.

Why do I need to know Japanese onomatopoeia?

This is because Japanese has a very large number of onomatopoeia compared to English or French. So it is very important for understanding the Japanese language.

How many onomatopoeias are there in the Japanese language?

The Onomatopoeia Dictionary in Japan contains 4,500 words.

Do you have any tips for learning onomatopoeia?

Why not start by finding something you like and memorizing it?

How are Japanese onomatopoeia different from those in other languages?

Japanese onomatopoeia are more diverse and detailed. They include not only sound-imitating words but also words that describe states, emotions, and actions, giving a richer sensory experience.

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