When we communicate in Japanese, have you experienced to confuse about “onomatopoeia?” For example, “今日は雨がザアザア降っているね。(Kyou wa ame ga ZA-ZA- futte iru ne.): Today, it rains ZA-ZA-.” What is ZA-ZA-?

We have more onomatopoeia like NIKO NIKO and GORO GORO. Let’s learn the magical Japanese words, onomatopoeia together.

Japanese Onomatopoeia such as ZA- ZA-, NIKO NIKO and GORO GORO, are magical words but sometimes confuse Japanese learners. “Onomatopoeia” is the word to describe what it sounds like, or what situation it is in.

Let me give you some examples of onomatopoeia to describe the sounds.

First example is  “雨がザアザア降っている。(Ame ga ZA-ZA- futte iru.): It rains ZA-ZA-.” ZA-ZA- means like a pouring rain or drumming rain.

Also, even with the same rain, “雨がしとしと降っている。(Ame ga SHITO SHITO futte iru.): It rains SHITO SHITO.” refers to the sound of weak and quiet rain.

We call the onomatopoeia describe what it sounds like “擬音語 (Gion go):echo-word”

Then, onomatopoeia can also describe situations.

For instance, “キラキラ光る (KIRA KIRA hikaru.): It shines KIRA KIRA.” and “ピカッと光る (PIKAtto Hikaru.): It shines PIKAtto.” use the same verb, “光る (hikaru): shine.” But, there is a difference of how to shine between them.

“キラキラ光る (KIRA KIRA hikaru)” is like a calm ocean on a clear day and a beautiful night sky with lots of stars. It means like sparkling.

We express the light that shines strongly like a thunder, “ピカっと光る (PIKAtto hikaru).” The popular character Pikachu includes “PIKA” that describe electric spark.

Like this, the word describe situations is said “擬態語 (Gitai go): imitative word.”

It is said that the Japanese language has about more than 2,000 onomatopoeias.

“擬音語 (Gion go): echo-word” is a kind of onomatopoeia describe sounds. In your country, how do you say dog barking? In Japan, it is “ワンワン: WAN WAN.” Animal barking such as dogs and cats are also 擬音語 (Gion go): echo-word. Let me introduce other examples.

First example is the sound of knocking on the door.

“ドアをドンドン叩く (Doa wo DON DON tataku): a very strong hitting sound.”

“ドアをトントン叩く (Doa wo TON TON tataku): a normal tapping sound.”

“ドアをトントン叩く (Doa wo KON KON tataku): a lighter tapping sound”

Even if it is the same thing as “knocking on the door,” the sound will be different depending on the way the door is tapped.

Next, a sneezing sound is “ハクション (HAKUSHON)” in Japanese. And, we use “ゴホゴホ(GOHO GOHO): the sound of bad cough” and “コンコン (KON KON): the sound of mild cough” to describe the sounds of coughing.

Lastly, in Japanese language, we can express laughing with “はひふへほ (Ha Hi Fu He Ho).”

 “ははは (HA HA HA): a loud,  joyful laugh.”

 “ひひひ (HI HI HI): the laugh you hear when you’re thinking something bad.

It is the sound of a wizard laughing.”

 “ふふふ (FU FU FU): the sound you make

when you laugh softly without opening your mouth too much.”

 “へへへ (HE HE HE): a laugh when a mistake is discovered

or when you are embarrassed.”

 “ほほほ (HO HO HO): the sound that people laugh elegantly.” 

“擬態語 (Gitai go): imitative word” is a kind of onomatopoeia describe situations.

Have you ever heard someone says “日本語がペラペラになりたいです。 (Nihongo ga PERA PERA ni naritai desu.)?”

It means “I want to speak Japanese fluently.”

“ペラペラになりたい。 (PERA PERA ni naritai)” means to want to speak Japanese well and with good speed.

Let me introduce other examples that Japanese people often use.

 “お腹がペコペコです。 (Onaka ga PEKO PEKO desu.): I’m hungry.”

 “のどがカラカラです。 (Nodo ga KARA KARA desu.): I’m thirsty.”

 “一日中働いたのでヘトヘトです。 (Ichinihiju hataraita node HETO HETO desu.): I’ve been working all day and I’m so tired I can’t move.”

“休みの日はゴロゴロしていました。(Yasumi no hi ha GORO GORO shite imashita.): I was relaxing and not doing anything special on my day off.”“GORO GORO” has many other meanings.

“あの人はいつもニコニコしている。 (Ano hito wa itsumo NIKO NIKO shite iru.): The person is always smiling kindly.”

We can use 擬態語 (Gitai go): imitative word to describe feelings.

First, “ドキドキ (DOKI DOKI)” means nervous.

When you have a job interview tomorrow,

“ドキドキして眠れない。(DOKI DOKI shite nemurenai.): I’m so excited and nervous that I can’t sleep.”

When you talk with your lover for the first time,

 “ドキドキしてあまり話せなかった。 (DOKI DOKI shite amari hanase nakatta.): I was so nervous that I couldn’t talk much.”

 Second, “ホッとする (HOtto suru) means the feeling of being relieved of tension or the feeling at ease.

“試験が終わってホッとした。(Shiken ga owatte HOtto shita.): I was relieved that the exam was over.”

After work, “家に帰るとホッとする。 (Ie ni kaeru to HOtto suru.): I feel relieved when I get home after work.”

Third, “イライラ (IRA IRA) is used when you feel bad because things do not go as you expected.

When the bus is 20 minutes late, 

“イライラする。 (IRA IRA suru.): I’m frustrated.”

Because the work isn’t progressing at all,

 “イライラする。(IRA IRA suru.): I’m frustrated.”

Forth, “ワクワク (WAKU WAKU)” means the feeling of waiting for something fun to happen.

When you have a trip to Japan from next week,

“今からワクワクしている (Imakara WAKU WAKU shiteiru.): I’m already excited.”

Japanese learners usually say, “Japanese Onomatopoeia is difficult.” However, after getting used to Japanese, many people find that onomatopoeia is quite useful.

When you have a job interview, you do not have to say this difficult sentence like “とても緊張している。 (Totemo kincho shiteiru.)” You can tell your nervous feeling more easily! “ドキドキしている。 (DOKI DOKI shiteiru.)”

Anime, manga, and TV commercials use onomatopoeia along with pictures and images to convey the image. When you describe the situation that you heard something falling, you can tell what kind of thing fell and how it fell with using onomatopoeia such as “ドンッ (DON),” “コトッ (KOTO)” and “ガタッ (GATA).” You can enjoy the realistic sensation of anime and manga.

And, talking with a doctor, with using onomatopoeia, you can tell how bad your headache is more easily. For example, “ズキズキする (ZUKI ZUKI suru),” “ガンガンする (GAN GAN suru)” and “シクシクする (SHIKU SHIKU suru)”

 Once you understand onomatopoeia, you will be able to concretely express your feelings and situations in short words.

We are often asked about Japanese onomatopoeia by our students in class. In this situation, we think the meanings together and other students teach us the meanings. Every time the students get the meanings, they smile “にっこり (NIKKORI)”. TCJ teachers also value questions from students and authentic Japanese expressions.

（Reference）

NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute. 2008. Kotoba Uraomote “Giongo Gitaigo.”　

National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics. e-Japan Nihongo wo tanoshimou “Giongo Gitaigo.”

N3 Goi Speed Master. J Research Shuppan.
Shin kanzen master Goi Japanese-Language Proficiency Test N3. Three A Network.