Mastering Japanese Onomatopoeia: Tips to Make the Tricky Easy

To Japanese learners: Do you incorporate onomatopoeia in your daily conversations?
For those encountering onomatopoeia for the first time, this article is highly recommended.

Onomatopoeia is used extensively in everyday Japanese. It is hoped that learners of Japanese will become proficient in their use and gradually incorporate them naturally into conversation. Initially, it may feel somewhat unfamiliar—doki doki, as the Japanese expression goes.

The charm of Japanese onomatopoeia, I believe, lies in how they emphasize one’s feelings and make it easier to express emotions in detail — and easier for others to understand. Furthermore, they help listeners visualize the situation more vividly, making communication smoother and allowing them to better grasp the speaker’s emotions. In this way, Japanese onomatopoeia play an important role in enriching the expressiveness and depth of the Japanese language.

When I teach Japanese onomatopoeia to my students, I often use Kimochi ga Tsutawaru Onomatopoeia from the Japan Foundation’s Japanese learning site, Hikidasu Nihongo. Although the video is only about one minute long, it’s exceptionally well-made and informative. The first half visually explains onomatopoeia through illustrations of various scenes, while the second half shows practical daily conversations that naturally include onomatopoeia.

Other useful resources include the “Sound Words” section of NHK WORLD-JAPAN’s Easy Japanese Grammar Lessons, and the onomatopoeia page on Nihongo Net, which even offers fun onomatopoeia quizzes.

What Makes Japanese Onomatopoeia So Tricky?

For example, the word “sukkiri” can mean several things:
A feeling of refreshment or mental clarity.
A state in which things are neatly arranged or well organized.
A sense of relief after unpleasant feelings or uncertainty have been resolved.

This single word can describe many different situations, which makes it hard for learners to remember. However, for native speakers, it’s a very convenient and expressive word.

When translating “sukkiri” into English, possible equivalents include “I feel better,” “I feel refreshed,” “tidy,” “clean,” “clear,” and “neat.”

However, since each expression has slightly different nuances, learners need to carefully choose the most appropriate one for each context, which can be confusing.

Here are some examples showing how “sukkiri” takes on different grammatical roles depending on the sentence:

・Shawā o abite sukkiri!
– I feel refreshed after taking a shower.

・Sukkiri shita dezain no heya desu ne.
– This room has a clean and simple design.

・Kesa wa sukkiri okirareta.
– I was able to wake up feeling refreshed this morning.

・Kare ni iitai koto o zenbu itta kara sukkiri shita.
– I feel relieved because I said everything I wanted to tell him.

Its usage varies — it can function as a verb, adjective, adverb, or noun.
Moreover, since each onomatopoeia has its own patterns of use, learners may find it even more challenging to master.

Sukkiri, sappari, sukatto, and bassari—these are all onomatopoeic expressions used to convey a pleasant and refreshing feeling.
However, what distinguishes each one, and in what contexts should they be used? It is perfectly natural to feel overwhelmed and uncertain at first.

Not only that — some onomatopoeia look or sound quite similar.

For example:
・Onomatopoeia beginning with su: sukkiri, sukkari, suppori, sutto
・Onomatopoeia ending with kiri: sukkiri, kukkiri, hakkiri, pokkiri

It is said that there are several thousand Japanese onomatopoeic expressions, making it entirely understandable if they appear confusing or difficult to memorize.

A method frequently recommended to students is to utilize image searches. For example, searching for “boro boro” yields numerous images of worn-out or tattered objects, which clarifies the meaning.

It is also beneficial to include “no”, which transforms the word into an adjective, in the search—for instance, “boro boro no kutsu” (worn-out shoes), “boro boro no ha” (decayed teeth), or “boro boro no fuku” (tattered clothes). Such search strategies provide valuable contextual examples that assist learners in understanding how the expression is applied in real-life situations.

Here are some examples:
・Hataraki sugite, kokoro to karada ga boro boro ni narimashita.
– I worked too much and ended up completely exhausted, both mentally and physically.

・Mada sono boro boro no kutsu o haiteru no? Sorosoro sutena yo.
– You’re still wearing those worn-out shoes? It’s time to let them go.

・Kodomo ga kuruma no naka de kukkii o tabete, boro boro koboshita kara sōji ga taihen datta.
– My kid ate cookies in the car and got crumbs everywhere—it was such a pain to clean up.

To begin with, observe how native speakers naturally use onomatopoeia in their sentences, and pay close attention to their pronunciation and emotional expressions.

In manga, giongo (onomatopoeia that directly express sounds) and gitaigo (those that describe states or conditions) are frequently used. When taking notes, be sure to include the context in which the onomatopoeia appears, along with its meaning.

doki doki, bata bata, sara sara, goro goro, koro koro, and many more—try saying them out loud to get a real feel for their sounds and rhythms.

Onomatopoeia related to weather, nature, and food are especially common in daily life, so it’s a good idea to start with those.

Onomatopoeia for weather and nature: poka poka, potsu potsu, zaa zaa, byuu byuu
Onomatopoeia for food: mogu mogu, neba neba, mochi mochi, toro toro, pori pori

One of my students who was particularly skilled at using Japanese onomatopoeia often practiced by describing the food she ate. For example, she would say, “Kore wa sakusaku de oishii desu” (This is crispy and delicious), “Waa! Fuwafuwa desu ne. Oishisō.” (Wow! It’s so fluffy. Looks delicious!), or “Torōri shiteimasu ne.” (It’s melty, isn’t it?).

She said that this practice helped her when she introduced food and snacks from her own country to Japanese people, or when she went to restaurants with Japanese friends. I found it a wonderful habit and was truly impressed.

When it comes to food-related onomatopoeia, Japanese people even use them to describe the texture — including the sound, mouthfeel, aroma, and taste — as well as the way they eat. Just by hearing these expressions, you can often imagine what kind of food they’re talking about, and it makes the deliciousness feel much more vivid and real!

Next, let’s look at weather-related onomatopoeia.
Japanese offers numerous ways to describe rain — potsu potsu, para para, shito shito, zaa zaa, pota pota, and more—highlighting the richness and subtlety of its onomatopoeic expressions. One student once noted, “In Japan, icebreakers are often about the weather,” which is quite accurate. With four seasons, a rainy season, and even typhoons, the Japanese sky is constantly changing. These varied expressions arose from a desire to capture such subtle shifts in the weather, reflecting both cultural and emotional sensitivity in Japanese language.

A student once asked, “Sensei, sometimes onomatopoeia are written in katakana, and other times in hiragana. What is the difference between the two?”
This is indeed a very perceptive question.

The choice largely depends on the image or nuance that the writer wishes to convey. There is no definitive rule, as it often comes down to personal preference and the intended context.

In general, hiragana gives a soft, gentle, and warm impression due to its rounded shape, making words feel more friendly and mild.
On the other hand, katakana looks more angular — or as we might say in Japanese, kaku kaku (meaning “sharp-edged”) — which creates a cool, mechanical, or crisp impression.

When onomatopoeia are used, various factors are taken into account, such as the tone of a manga’s world, the image of a product in advertisements, or the visual balance with other characters on the page.

Whichever style you feel fits best is perfectly fine — that freedom of expression, I think, is one of the unique charms of Japanese writing.

It is natural for learners to feel that Japanese onomatopoeia are “too complicated” or “impossible to memorize,” given that there are reportedly several thousand such expressions in the language. Nevertheless, they are indispensable for mastering natural Japanese.

Memorizing all of them at once is unnecessary. It is effective to begin with expressions encountered in daily life, such as those related to weather or food.

At TCJ, native instructors provide guidance on the correct usage of onomatopoeia and offer support to address any concerns. We do our best to make learning both effective and enjoyable.

References

・Hikidasu Nihongo – Activate Your Japanese! (Japan Foundation)
https://www.hikidasu.jpf.go.jp/jp/corner/onomatopoeia/

・Easy Japanese Grammar Lessons – Sound Words (NHK WORLD-JAPAN)
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/lesson/english/soundwords/

・Nihongo NET – Onomatopoeia
https://nihongokyoshi-net.com/onomatopoeia/