What noises do animals make?

Have you ever thought about how some words really sound perfect for what they’re describing? Think about the words we use to describe animal noises, for example. My favourite is the word for the noise a frog makes, which is English is ribbit-ribbit. It’s different in every language but it always sounds like a frog! Here are a few more of the words we use to describe the noises animals make, try saying them and see what you think. What noises do animals make in your language?

Cats – miaow

Birds – tweet / chirp (except parrots, which squawk!)

Lions – roar

Cows – moo

Dogs – bark / woof

Sheep – baa

Horses – neigh (also clip-clop, which is the noise their feet make when they walk)

Cockerels – cock-a-doodle-doo

Some more words which sound like what they’re describing

In my last blog I talked about animal noises, and how we say them in English. It’s not just for animals that we have these onomatopoeic words (words which sound like what they are describing). We use them to describe ways of speaking. To mumble is to speak without really opening your mouth enough, to stutter is to accidentally repeat sounds when you are speaking. We also use them to describe different types of laughter – a guffaw is a big, deep laugh, a chuckle is a smaller laugh, and a giggle is the type of laugh you might hear from young children.

Weather words which sound like what they’re describing

So far I’ve told you about animal words and words to describe ways of speaking and laughing which sound like what they’re describing (onomatopoeia). We also have some weather words like this. As you know, the British love to talk about the weather, so we have lots of words to describe it! Rain landing on your roof might pitter-patter, thunder might rumble or crash and lightning might crack, the wind might howl around your building. This all sounds like pretty bad weather really!

Onomatopoeia around the house

In the final blog in my series on words which sound like what they are describing I thought I’d talk about things in the house. What noise does a clock make, for example? Tick tock of course! A door might creak when you open it if the hinges need to be oiled. When you pour sparkling water or a soft drink like Coke or Sprite into a glass it will fizz because of the air bubbles. If someone rings your doorbell it might sound like ding-dong, or they might just knock on your door (sometimes people actually say knock knock when they want to go into someone’s house!). And finally, when your microwave oven has finished cooking something it will ping to let you know it is finished!

(Source: www.englishonline.org.cn)

Johnny Grammar is English Online's resident grammar teacher. Johnny loves to tackle your worst grammar nightmares and provide you with simple explanations.

Johnny's blog: Johnny talks about interesting words and expressions in English that he comes across in his daily life.