Japanese Onomatopoeia
Japanese Onomatopoeia can be broken down into 5 categories
since there are thousands of Onomatopoeias. These are ぎせいご, ぎおんご, ぎたいご,
ぎようご and ぎじょうご.
Onomatopoeia that describes the animal and human sounds is
called ぎせいご
(Giseigo, 擬声語) or Animate
phonomime while the actual sounds made by inanimate objects and nature is ぎおんご
(Giongo, 擬音語) or Inanimate
phonomime. Onomatopoeia that describes the conditions and states is ぎたいご (Gitaigo, 擬態語)
or Phenomime. ぎようご (Giyougo 擬容語)
is an onomatopoeia that describes the movements and motions while Psychomime orぎじょうご (Gijougo, 擬情語)
describes one’s feelings.
Now let’s check some of the Japanese Onomatopoeia.
Pon (ポン)
-
It is the most common Japanese onomatopoeia.
-
This Japanese onomatopoeia has a lot of
meanings. It can be for tapping someone on the shoulder, head pats, hitting a
drum, tapping, or bopping. It can also be used in the fist-hitting palm idea
gesture which we often see in Anime or Manga’s.
Sample Sentence:
かれはおとうとのかたをポンとたたいた。
(Kare ha otouto no kata wo pon to tataita.)
(彼は弟の肩をポンとたたいた。)
He patted his
brother on the shoulder.
Noronoro (のろのろ)
-
It describes someone or something that moves
slowly, sluggish, or in snail’s pace.
Sample Sentence:
かめみたいにあるくのがとてものろのろね。
(Kame mitai ni aruku no
ga totemo noronoro ne.)
(亀みたいに歩くのがとてもノロノロね。)
You walk very slowly like a
turtle.
Sutasuta
(すたすた)
- It describes a person who walks hurriedly without looking back.
Sample Sentence:
みみをかさずすたすたとあるいていってしまいました。
(Mimi wo kasazu sutasuta
to aruite itte shimaimashita.)
(耳を貸さずスタスタと歩いて行ってしまいました。)
I didn't listen and just
walked away.
Pakapaka (ぱかぱか)
-
The sound of a horse walking.
Sample Sentence:
うまはまちちゅうをぱかぱかあるいた。
(Uma ha machichuu wo
pakapaka aruita.)
(馬は街中をパカパカ歩いた。)
The horse paced around the
city.
Pyonpyon (ぴょんぴょん)
-
It describes a rabbit jumping, hopping, skipping.
Sample Sentence:
こどもはソファーのうえでぴょんぴょんはねるのがすきです。
(Kodomo ha sofa- no ue de
pyonpyon haneru no ga suki desu.)
(子供はソファーの上でぴょんぴょんはねるのが好きです。)
Children like to jump up and
down on the sofa.
Garagara (がらがら)
-
It literally means rattle-rattle.
-
The sound of a person opening a sliding door.
Sample Sentence:
あかちゃんはがらがらをふるわせていました。
(Akachan ha garagara wo
furuwasete imashita.)
(赤ちゃんはガラガラを震わせていました。)
The baby was
shaking the rattle.
Batan
(ばたん)
-
The sound of a door being shut down, or with a
bang.
Sample Sentence:
かれはばたんとおおきなおとをたててドアをしめた。
(Kare ha batan to ookina oto wo tatete doa wo shimeta.)
(彼はバタンと大きな音を立ててドアを閉めた。)
He slammed the
door shut with a loud bang.
Parapara (ぱらぱら)
-
The sound made by turning the pages of a book.
-
It is also a sound describing a hail pattering
sound or rain sprinkling sound.
Sample Sentence:
ぱらぱらとおおつぶのあめがおりはじめた。
(Parapara to ootsubu no ame ga ori hajimeta.)
(ぱらぱらと大粒の雨が降り始めた。)
Heavy rain began
to fall.
Jikkuri (じっくり)
-
It describes a person calmly taking time to
grapple with a task.
-
It means slowly and carefully.
Sample Sentence:
なっとくがいくまでじっくりとじかんをかけてください。
(Nattoku ga iku made jikkuri to jikan wo kakete kudasai.)
(納得がいくまでじっくりと時間をかけてください。)
Please take your
time until you are satisfied with it.
Kirakira (きらきら)
-
It describes something that is shining or
sparkling.
Sample Sentence:
ほしがきらきらかがやいている。
(Hoshi ga kirakira kagayaite iru.)
(星がキラキラ輝いている.)
The stars are
shining brightly.
Pikapika (ぴかぴか)
-
It describes something that has become clean and
is shining after being polished.
Sample Sentence:
わたしはぴかぴかのしんしゃをこうにゅうしました。
(Watashi ha
pikapika no shinsha wo kounyuu shimashita.)
(私はピカピカの新車を購入しました。)
I bought a shiny
new car.
Pakupaku
(ぱくぱく)
-
It describes a person eating something with a
huge appetite.
Sample Sentence:
べんとうをぱくぱくたべた。
(Bentou wo pakupaku tabeta.)
(弁当をぱくぱく食べた.)
I ate my bento.
Mogumogu (もぐもぐ)
-
It describes a person chewing some food without
opening his/her mouth.
Sample:
わたしのいぬちゃんはいつももぐもぐとなにかをたべている。
(Watashi no inu-chan ha itsumo mogumogu to nanika wo tabete iru.)
(私の犬ちゃんはいつももぐもぐと何かを食べている。)
My dog is always
chewing on something.
Dokidoki (どきどき)
-
It describes how the heart beats fast with
surprise, anxiety or excitement.
Sample Sentence:
こわくてしんぞうがどきどきしました。
(Kowakute shinzou ga dokidoki shimashita.)
(怖くて心臓がドキドキしました。)
I was scared, and
my heart was pounding.
Girigiri
(ぎりぎり)
-
It is used when you are pressed so hard for the time
that you have no more to spare.
-
It also literally means last, at a threshold or
just in time.
Sample Sentence:
ぎりぎりじゅぎょうにまにあいました。
(Girigiri jugyou ni ma ni aimashita.)
(ギリギリ授業に間に合いました。)
I barely made it
to class.
Suresure (すれすれ)
-
It is used when you almost go beyond the limit.
-
Also, it can be described as closely, nearly
touching, barely enough.
Sample Sentence:
かれはいしゃしけんにすれすれでごうかくした。
(Kare ha isha shiken ni suresure de goukaku shita.)
(彼は医者試験にすれすれで合格した。)
He barely passed
the medical exam.
Gakkuri (がっくり)
-
This is said to express disappointment.
-
Being heartbroken and dejected.
Sample Sentence:
かのじょがかれとわかれたとき、かれはがっくりひざをついた。
(Kanojo ga kare to
wakareta toki, kare ha gakkuri hiza wo tsuita.)
(彼女が彼と別れたとき、彼はがっくりひざをついた。)
When she broke up with
him, he fell to his knees.
Wakuwaku
(わくわく)
-
It is used to express excitement or happy
expectations.
Sample Sentence:
かれはそのうつくしいこうけいをみてわくわくしてます。
(Kare ha sono utsukushii koukei wo mite wakuwaku shitemasu.)
(彼はその美しい光景を見てわくわくしてます。)
He gets excited
seeing the beautiful scenery.
Ukiuki (うきうき)
-
It is used to express a cheerful, buoyant mood.
Sample Sentence:
かれはかのじょにであってうきうきしている。
(Kare ha kanojo ni
deatte ukiuki shite iru)
(彼は彼女に出会ってウキウキしている。)
He is excited to have
met her.
Gayagaya (がやがや)
-
It describes many people making a lot of noise,
talking to one another.
Sample:
せんせいがきょうしつからはなれたとたん、がやがやとさわがしくなった。
(Sensei ga kyoushitsu kara hanareta totan, gayagaya to sawagashiku natta.)
(先生が教室から離れた途端、ガヤガヤと騒がしくなった。)
As soon as the
teacher left the room, there was a lot of noise.
More Japanese onomatopoeia coming soon. Please look forward
for more.
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See you soon.
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For a better image, you can check the picture library in the link:
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If you want to check my previous post, you can check it through the link below:
>> The Japanese copula ‘Desu’
>> Japanese Counters つ and こ
>> Let’s talk about Japanese Verbs – Ru-Verbs
>> The Hiragana Character
>> The Katakana Character
>> Examples of Hiragana
>> Examples of Katakana
For Word of the Week page, please check the link below:
>> 2023 Word of the Week: Week 01
>> 2023 Word of the Week: Week 02
>> 2023 Word of the Week: Week 03
For YouTube Videos:
>> Writing 10 Japanese Kanji - Part I
>> Part II | Japanese words | Hiragana | Na-adjectives
>> Japanese words | Hiragana | Na-adjectives Part I
For Monthly Grammar:
>> Monthly Grammar: Part 1 - Simple Japanese Conversation
>> Monthly Grammar: Part II – Age in Japanese Conversation
>> Monthly Grammar: Part III – Appreciating someone
For Kanji:
>> Kanji: 水
>> Kanji: 山
>> Kanji: 月
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