Use and Examples of Onomatopoeia in Spanish

Onomatopoeia, or  onomatopeya in Spanish, is the formation or use of words that are imitative or intended to sound like what they represent. A good example of this is the word  click in English, which formed to imitate a clicking sound. Its Spanish equivalent is the noun spelled  clic, which became the stem of the verb cliquear,  to click a mouse. Onomatopoeia is not the same for all languages because native speakers interpret each sound their own way and may form words differently. For  example, the onomatopoeic sound for a frog differs greatly across cultures. The croak of a frog is coa-coa  in French, gae-gool-gae-gool  in Korean,  ¡berp!  in Argentinian Spanish, and ribbit in the United States. Croak itself in an example of onomatopoeia. In some cases, imitative words have evolved over the centuries to the point where the onomatopoeic nature of the word is no longer obvious. For example, both the English touch and the Spanish tocar probably came from an imitative Latin root word. How to Use Onomatopoeic Words Sometimes onomatopoeic words are interjections, words that stand alone rather than as part of a standard sentence. Also, interjections can be used when imitating an animal, like a cows sound, which in Spanish is spelled mu. Onomatopoeic words can also be used or modified to form other parts of speech, such as the word clic or the Spanish verb  zapear, coming from the onomatopoeic word zap. Spanish Onomatopoeic Words In English, common onomatopoeic words include bark, snort, burp, hiss, swish, and buzz. What follows are several dozen Spanish onomatopoeic words in use. Spelling is not always standardized. Spanish Word Meaning ach achoo (the sound of a sneeze) achuchar to crush arrullar to coo, to lull to sleep auuuu howl of a wolf aullar to howl bang bang bang-bang (the sound of a gun) be bleat (as of a ram or similar animal) berp croak (as of a frog) bisbisear to murmur or mumble brrr brr (the sound one makes when cold) bu boo bum boom, explosion, the sound of being struck by someone or something bzzz buzz (as of a bee) chascar, chasquido to snap, to pop, to crackle chilla the scream or screech of various animals such as a fox or rabbit chinchn the sound of cymbals chirriar to creak chof splash chupar to lick or suck clac click, clack, a very brief sound such as that of a door closing clic, cliquear mouse click, to click a mouse clo-clo, coc-co-co-coc, kara-kara-kara-kara clucking sound cricr; cric cric cric the sound of a cricket croa croak (as of a frog) cruaaac cruaaac caw (sound of birds) cuac cuac quack ccu-ccu cuckoo sound cu-curru-cu-c coo deslizar to slide din don, din dan, ding dong ding-dong fu growl of a lion ggggrrrr, grgrgr growl of a tiger glugl gobble-gobble of a turkey glup gulp guau bow-wow, dog bark hipo, hipar hiccup, to hiccup iii-aah heehaw of a donkey jaja ha-ha (the sound of laughter) jiiiiiii, iiiio neigh marramao howling of a cat miau meow of a cat mu moo muac, muak, mua sound of a kiss murmurar leaves rustling in the wind, murmur am am yum-yum oinc, oink oink paf sound of something falling or two things striking each other pao the sound of a spanking (regional use) pataplum the sound of an explosion po po chirp, click piar to chirp, cluck, or squawk plas splash, the sound of something hitting something pop pop (sound) pop, pum the sound of a champagne cork popping puaf yuck quiquiriqu cock-a-doodle-do ratapln the sound of a drum refunfuar to mutter or grumble silbar to hiss or whistle siseo, sisear hiss, to hiss tan tan tan the sound of a hammer in use tictac tick-tock tiritar to shiver toc toc knock-knock tocar to touch or to play a musical instrument trucar to trick tumbar to knock down uf phew, ugh (often a sound of disgust, such as after smelling something awful) uu uu the sound an owl makes zangolotear to shake or rattle zao shoo (a shout for getting rid of animals) zapear to zap zas sound of being struck zumbar to buzz, to slap (the noun form is zumbido) zurrar to hit, to clobber Key Takeaways Onomatopoeia involves the use or formation of words that imitate the sound of something.Words that imitate the same sound sometimes seem to have little in common in different languages.Meanings of onomatopoeic words can change over time so that the imitative origins of words are no longer  obvious.