Chinese Onomatopoeia
Chinese onomatopoeia imitates sounds from animals, nature, people, and objects. These words are vivid, expressive, and very common in daily speech, storytelling, and conversation.
1 What Is Onomatopoeia?
Onomatopoeia (拟声词 / 象声词) means words that imitate real sounds. In Chinese, these words are highly vivid and often show not only sound, but also movement, rhythm, and attitude.
喵喵 miāo miāo — meow
哗啦啦 huā lā lā — sound of heavy rain / water
砰 pēng — bang
叽里咕噜 jī li gū lū can mean unclear muttering.
噼里啪啦 pī li pā lā can describe fast repeated sounds, fast talking, or fast typing.
2 Animal Sounds
These words imitate sounds made by animals.
— The kitten keeps meowing.
— A dog is barking outside the door.
— The sheep are baaing on the hillside.
— The sound of cows mooing came from far away.
— The birds in the tree kept chirping.
— A mosquito is buzzing by my ear.
3 Nature Sounds
These words describe sounds from rain, thunder, wind, water, and the natural world.
— It is drizzling softly outside.
— The rain is pouring down.
— The faucet keeps dripping.
— The wind is blowing hard outside.
— A rumbling thunder sound came from the sky.
— The wind made the leaves rustle.
4 Eating and Drinking Sounds
These are very vivid, practical, and common in daily life.
— He always chews noisily when eating.
— He gulped down the water in one go.
— He is crunching potato chips beside me.
— He is slurping noodles.
5 Talking and Mumbling Sounds
These words describe unclear speech, constant chatter, grumbling, or fast talking.
— He was muttering to himself, and I couldn’t tell what he was saying.
— She kept muttering the whole way.
— The children kept chattering in the classroom.
— As soon as he got anxious, he rattled off a lot of things.
— She was typing rapidly at the computer.
6 Body and Internal Sounds
These describe sounds from the body, such as hunger, breathing, heartbeat, or snoring.
— I was so hungry that my stomach was rumbling.
— He was so nervous that his heart kept pounding.
— He was panting heavily after running.
— He had fallen asleep and started snoring.
7 Household and Object Sounds
These words describe daily sounds made by objects, doors, switches, footsteps, and collisions.
— The cup fell to the ground with a clatter.
— He pressed lightly, and the door locked with a click.
— He switched on the light with a click.
— The old floor creaks when you walk on it.
— She tore the paper open with a rip.
— She walked over in high heels, click-clacking.
8 Common Patterns and Sentence Functions
Chinese onomatopoeia often appears in repeated patterns. These patterns help show rhythm, duration, and intensity.
AA Pattern
喵喵 miāo miāo — meow
汪汪 wāng wāng — woof / bark
呼呼 hū hū — sound of wind or breathing
咚咚 dōng dōng — knocking / thumping
Simple repeated sound, often short and clear.
AB Pattern
滴答 dī dā — tick-tock / dripping
咔嚓 kā chā — click / crack / crunch
哐啷 kuāng lāng — clatter
扑通 pū tōng — plop / thud
Two different syllables; often more dynamic and vivid.
ABB Pattern
哗啦啦 huā lā lā — sound of heavy rain / flowing water
轰隆隆 hōng lōng lōng — rumbling sound
呼噜噜 hū lū lū — snoring / rumbling sound
Longer, more flowing or continuing sound.
AABB / ABAB Pattern
叽叽喳喳 jī jī zhā zhā — chirping / chattering
淅淅沥沥 xī xī lì lì — light rain sound
滴答滴答 dī dā dī dā — ticking / dripping
咕咚咕咚 gū dōng gū dōng — gulping / thudding repeatedly
Repeated rhythm, often used for continuous action or repeated sound.
Common sentence functions
1. As an independent exclamation: 砰！ 门关上了。
Bang! The door shut.
2. As an adverbial: 雨哗啦哗啦地下着。
The rain was pouring down.
3. As a predicate: 小溪潺潺。
The brook murmurs softly.
4. As an attributive: 传来一阵轰隆隆的雷声。
A rumbling thunder sound came over.
5. As a complement: 他摔得扑通一声。
He fell with a thud.
9 Common Mistakes to Avoid
10 Practice
Choose the best onomatopoeia. Click to check the answers.
Practice 1: Animals and nature
- 小猫一直___叫。
The kitten keeps meowing. - 外面下着___的小雨。
It is drizzling softly outside. - 天空中传来___的雷声。
A rumbling thunder sound came from the sky.
小猫一直喵喵叫。
Xiǎo māo yìzhí miāo miāo jiào. — The kitten keeps meowing.
外面下着淅淅沥沥的小雨。
Wàimiàn xiàzhe xī xī lì lì de xiǎoyǔ. — It is drizzling softly outside.
天空中传来轰隆隆的雷声。
Tiānkōng zhōng chuánlái hōng lōng lōng de léishēng. — A rumbling thunder sound came from the sky.
Practice 2: Food and talking
- 他吃饭总是___的。
He always chews noisily when eating. - 他把水___喝完了。
He gulped down the water. - 她在电脑前___打字。
She is typing rapidly at the computer.
他吃饭总是吧唧吧唧的。
Tā chīfàn zǒngshì bā jī bā jī de. — He always chews noisily when eating.
他把水咕噜咕噜喝完了。
Tā bǎ shuǐ gū lū gū lū hē wán le. — He gulped down the water.
她在电脑前噼里啪啦打字。
Tā zài diànnǎo qián pī li pā lā dǎzì. — She is typing rapidly at the computer.
Practice 3: Body and objects
- 我太饿了，肚子都___叫了。
I was so hungry that my stomach was rumbling. - 杯子掉在地上，___一声。
The cup fell to the ground with a clatter. - 旧地板走起来___地响。
The old floor creaks when you walk on it.
我太饿了，肚子都咕噜咕噜叫了。
Wǒ tài è le, dùzi dōu gū lū gū lū jiào le. — I was so hungry that my stomach was rumbling.
杯子掉在地上，哐当一声。
Bēizi diào zài dìshàng, kuāng dāng yì shēng. — The cup fell to the ground with a clatter.
旧地板走起来咯吱咯吱地响。
Jiù dìbǎn zǒu qǐlái gē zhī gē zhī de xiǎng. — The old floor creaks when you walk on it.