Notes on Japanese Onomatopoeia

Japanese onomatopoeia is fascinating.

After watching a bit of anime or reading manga in Japanese, it will quickly become apparent that the Japanese have words for sounds that cannot be heard.

Prof. John Whitman, in "Chit-chat among Japanese Farm Animals" writes:

In addition to those onomatopoeia which imitate the sounds of nature, called gisei-go in Japanese, Japanese recognizes two additional types of onomatopoeia: one that basically suggests states of the external world (gitai-go), and another that basically names internal mental conditions and sensations (gijoo-go). There is some overlap between the two.

Some books on Japanese Onomatopoeia:

Yukina, in Nadesico, constantly comments on her actions with spoken bits of onomatopoeia.

In the previews for the next episode of Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito, Lilith (Ririsu) often uses onomatopoeia to express her feelings about the events of the preceding episode (often sarcastically).

A list of Japanese onomatopoeia

Many of the definitions that appear below have been gleaned from the following sites (in addition to an afternoon spent thumbing through various Japanese dictionaries).

If you like this list, take a look at "Japanese sound effects and what they mean".
achi kochi
here and there
ban ban
plenty
bari bari
the sound of tearing (e.g., paper), also used to describe being very busy.
bara bara
scattered
basa basa
unkempt hair
bashi bashi
the sound of smacking someone on the head
bera bera
chatting, rattling
bichi bichi
flopping, smacking
bishi
the sound of coming to attention, coming together, or getting into the proper order
boin boin
a well-endowed woman
boki boki
cracking a twig or one's knuckles
bo bo
the sound of a fire burning
boko boko
the sound of hitting something (someone) hard.
boro boro
the sound of a large object (like a barrel) rolling; also ragtag, or worn out
bura bura
staggering around
busu busu
the sound of stabbing
butsu butsu
mumbling, whispering
chika chika
flickering light (see pika pika) eyes tired from too much computer or TV
chaku chaku
steadily
choko choko
always moving around, toddling
deko bako
bumpy
doki doki
the sound of a heart beating fast from excitement (at one time Megumi Hayashibara had a radio program called ``Doki Doki Station'')
don don
building up of events, progression of events, little by little
dosun
the sound of something falling with a thud
dosun dosun
the sound of stomping
fusa fusa
a full and attractive head of hair
fuwa fuwa
fluffy, but also cozy, pleasant
gaku gaku
knees shaking in fear
gara gara
almost empty
gari gari
the sound of grinding or scraping
gasa gasa
dry, rough skin the sound of leaves or papers rustling
gata gata
trembling with cold (humans) vibrations
gatsu gatsu
hungrily, voraciously
gaya gaya
crowded
gera gera
loud laughter
gero gero
``ribbit'' --- the sound a frog makes (in Card Captor Sakura a pun on gero gero is applied to Kero-chan's name)
giri giri
just barely, just in time, ``by the skin of one's teeth''
gito gito
being oily
gocha gocha
the state of disorder common to apartments nagging
gohhon
the sound of someone sneezing
goro goro (boro boro/poro poro)
to laze about, the sound of an upset stomach, the loud rumble of lightning or an avalanche
goshi goshi
the sound of washing clothes vigorously by hand
gucha gucha
soft and wet, an awful mess
guru guru
going around and around in circles
guzu guzu
lazily, slowly
guu guu
the sound of snoring; also the sound of stomach rumbles
gyaa gyaa
the sound of a tantrum
hara hara
heart going pit a-pat, nervousness (see doki doki). The sound made when one is swaying, about to faint.
hou bou
here and there (everywhere)
iki iki
vividly
ira ira
the state of being frustrated
iro iro
this and that, variety, variously
.
iyo iyo
more and more (at last)
jime jime
clamminess
jiku jiku
oozing
jiro jiro
to stare
kacha kacha/kata kata
the sound of small things clattering
kan kan
very angry
kara kara
very dry
kari kari
the sound of someone scratching their head in puzzlement
kera kera/keta keta
laughter
kira kira
glitter and sparkle
kokekokko
cock-a-doodle-doo
kowa kowa
From kowai, scared. An expression of being scared.
kusu kusu
giggling
kuyo kuyo
worry about, mope, brood
kyoro kyoro
looking around restlessly
mago mago
confused
masu masu
more or less, increasing
mecha mecha
messed up, illogical, unreasonable
meki meki
the state of making rapid progress
mera mera
the sound/state of a fire blazing up
meso meso
sobbing, sniffling
miin miin
cicada
mishi mishi
the sound of creaking
mogu mogu
the sound of eating (perhaps the source of the name of the character Mogglemoggle in Dokkoidar, or at least the source of one of the ways his superior mis-remembers his name).
mori mori
doing something willlingly
moto moto
originally, by nature, from the start
mou mou
the sound a cow makes
muka muka
a sound someone makes when they are disgusted
niko niko
smiling
nita nita
smirking
niya niya
grinning
nyao
the sound a cat makes
pachi pachi
clapping hands
paku paku
eat in big mouth fulls, take big bites
pan pan
pounding (see pon pon); also, a full stomach
pecha kucha
chattering
peko peko
to be very hungry
pera pera
fluent in a language (pera pera appears in a joke in Azumanga Daioh: a foreigner approaches Nyamo-sensei and Yukari-sensei and tries to talk to them. His speech consists solely of "Pera pera" repeated over and over again).
pero pero
licking (e.g., lollipops). Perhaps the origin of the name of the Miyazawa dog in Kare Kano?
pichi pichi
the state of being young, fresh, vigorous
pii pii pii
whining, puling (also used to describe bird-song)
pika pika
glitter, twinkle (spic and span)
piku piku
twitching
piyo piyo
chirping of small birds
pocha pocha
splash in water
poka poka
the state of being nice and warm
pon pon
the sound of drumming. The Takahata film ``Pon Poko'' is named after the sound that tanuki are said to make by drumming on their rotund stomaches.
poro poro (goro goro/boro boro)
the sound of small objects (pebbles, raindrops) rolling down. In the title of Takahata's film Omohide poro poro it is memories that roll down like raindrops.
potsu potsu
the state of small drops falling sporadically
pun pun
A strong smell. Also an expression of anger, like saying "boo, hiss" (or, I suppose, "This stinks!").
raku raku
easily
riin
the sound/state of someone staring
saga saga
the state of being sarcastic
shiku shiku
the sound one makes when crying
tama tama
unexpectedly
teka teka
greasy hair
ten ten
like dots
ton ton (pon pon)
the sound of someone knocking on the door
tsuru tsuru
slippery, smoth
tsuya tsuya
glossy
uro uro
stumble
wai wai
noisy exhuberance
wan wan
the sound a dog makes
zuki zuki
a painful condition
Last edited 02/11/2003 by David Mankins
MIT Anime Club
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