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Chinese onomatopoeia

Each sound word in a sentence, with pinyin and sound.

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Animals

xiǎogǒu小狗wāngwāng汪汪jiào叫。
The puppy goes woof woof.

汪汪 wāngwāng · woof (a dog)
xiǎomāo小猫miāomiāo喵喵jiào叫。
The kitten goes meow.

喵喵 miāomiāo · meow (a cat)
xiǎoyāzi小鸭子gāgā嘎嘎jiào叫。
The duckling goes quack quack.

嘎嘎 gāgā · quack (a duck)
qīngwā青蛙zài在hébiān河边guāguā呱呱de地jiào叫。
The frog croaks by the river.

呱呱 guāguā · croak (a frog)
gōngjī公鸡wō喔wō喔jiào叫。
The rooster crows.

喔喔 wōwō · cock-a-doodle-doo (a rooster)
lǎoniú老牛mōu哞mōu哞jiào叫。
The old cow goes moo.

哞 mōu · moo (a cow)
xiǎoyáng小羊miēmiē咩咩jiào叫。
The lamb goes baa.

咩 miē · baa (a sheep)
xiǎoniǎo小鸟jījizhāzhā叽叽喳喳de地jiào叫。
The little birds chirp and twitter.

叽叽喳喳 jījizhāzhā · chirp and twitter (birds)
lǎoshǔ老鼠zhīzhī吱吱de地jiào叫。
The mouse squeaks.

吱吱 zhīzhī · squeak (a mouse)
mìfēng蜜蜂wēngwēng嗡嗡de地fēi飞。
The bees buzz around.

嗡嗡 wēngwēng · buzz (bees, flies)

People

tā他hāhā-dàxiào哈哈大笑。
He roars with laughter.

哈哈 hāhā · ha ha (a laugh)
tā她xīxī嘻嘻de地xiào笑le了。
She giggled.

嘻嘻 xīxī · tee-hee (a giggle)
bǎobao宝宝wāwā-dàkū哇哇大哭。
The baby wails.

哇 wā · waah (a cry)
wǒ我è饿de得dùzi肚子gūgū咕咕jiào叫。
I’m so hungry my stomach is growling.

咕咕 gūgū · growl (a hungry stomach); coo (a pigeon)
bàba爸爸shuìjiào睡觉dǎhūlu打呼噜。
Dad snores in his sleep.

呼噜 hūlu · snore
xū嘘！xiǎoshēng小声diǎnr点儿。
Shh! Keep it down.

嘘 xū · shh
āiyā哎呀，wǒ我wàng忘le了！
Oh no, I forgot!

哎呀 āiyā · oh no; oops
tā他gūdōng咕咚gūdōng咕咚de地hēshuǐ喝水。
He gulps the water down.

咕咚 gūdōng · gulp; a heavy thud

Things

yǒurén有人dōngdōng咚咚de地qiāomén敲门。
Someone knocks on the door.

咚咚 dōngdōng · knock knock; a drum
ménlíng门铃dīngdōng叮咚dīngdōng叮咚de地xiǎng响。
The doorbell goes ding-dong.

叮咚 dīngdōng · ding-dong
héshuǐ河水huāhuā哗哗de地liú流。
The river rushes along.

哗哗 huāhuā · the rush of water or rain
shízhōng时钟dīdā滴答dīdā滴答de地zǒu走。
The clock goes tick-tock.

滴答 dīdā · tick-tock; drip
tiānshàng天上hōnglōnglōng轰隆隆de地dǎléi打雷。
Thunder rumbles in the sky.

轰隆隆 hōnglōnglōng · rumble; boom
biānpào鞭炮pīlipālā噼里啪啦de地xiǎng响。
The firecrackers crackle and pop.

噼里啪啦 pīlipālā · crackle and pop
tā他pūtōng扑通yīshēng一声tiàojìn跳进shuǐ水li里。
He jumped into the water with a splash.

扑通 pūtōng · splash; thump
fēng风chuī吹de得shùyè树叶shāshā沙沙xiǎng响。
The wind makes the leaves rustle.

沙沙 shāshā · rustle
qìchē汽车dī嘀dī嘀de地àn按lǎba喇叭。
The car honks: beep beep.

嘀嘀 dīdī · beep (a horn)
kāchā咔嚓，tā他pāi拍le了yī一zhāng张zhàopiàn照片。
Click! He took a photo.

咔嚓 kāchā · click; snap

What is onomatopoeia called in Chinese?

拟声词 (nǐshēngcí), “words that imitate sounds”. Many are doubled, like 汪汪 and 哈哈. They go right before the verb, often with 地: 小狗汪汪叫 (the puppy barks), 河水哗哗地流 (the river rushes along).

What sound does a dog make in Chinese?

汪汪 (wāngwāng). A cat says 喵 (miāo) or 喵喵, a rooster 喔喔 (wōwō), a cow 哞 (mōu), a sheep 咩 (miē), a duck 嘎嘎 (gāgā) and a frog 呱呱 (guāguā).

How do you write laughing in Chinese?

哈哈 (hāhā) for a laugh and 嘻嘻 (xīxī) for a giggle. In chats, a longer 哈哈哈哈 is a bigger laugh.

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Sentences and English ours; pinyin from our own reader.