Learn How to Speak Like Chinese Animals With These Onomatopoeia

原创 Huang CK theBeijinger

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Animals living in different parts of the world largely all "speak" the same language, yet how we humans hear, write, and vocalize those sounds varies widely depending on where we're from and which language we speak. Animal noises in Chinese are also doubly interesting given that they must adhere to sounds of preexisting words, making for some truly interesting-sounding pets (for example, Chinese dogs bark wāngwāng, not woof woof). You may also be surprised by how many others sound like their English counterparts.

Here are the Chinese onomatopoeia (拟声词 nǐ shēng cí) of some common animal noises, with the English equivalent at the end.

Bee

嗡嗡

wēng wēng

buzz

Bird

叽叽喳喳

jīji zhāzhā

tweet

Cat

喵

miāo

meow

Cow

哞哞

mōu mōu

moo

Chick

唧唧

jījī

cheep cheep

If he wasn't asleep, this pig would be saying "哼哼 hēnghēng"

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Chicken

咯咯

gēgē

chirp chirp

Cicada

知了知了

zhīliǎo zhīliǎo

chirp chirp

Crickets

口瞿口瞿

kǒu qú kǒu qú

chirp chirp

Dogs

汪汪

wāngwāng

woof woof

Ducks

嘎嘎

gāgā

quack quack

Frogs

呱呱

guāguā

croak croak

Goats and sheep

咩咩

miē miē

bleat

Mice and rats

吱吱

zhī zhī

squeak squeak

Mosquitoes

哼哼

hēng hēng

buzz buzz

Pigs

哼哼

hēnghēng

oink oink

Roosters

喔喔

wōwō

cock-a-doodle-doo

Snake

咝

sī

hiss

Furthermore, just like in English, there are also various names for the type of sounds animals make (roar, growl, hiss). Here are 10 of the most common examples:

鹤唳

hè lì

cranes whoop

虎啸

hǔ xiào

tigers roar

狼嚎

láng háo

wolves howl

鹿鸣

lù míng

deer bleat

马嘶

mǎ sī

horses neigh

犬吠

quǎn fèi