Japanese/Vocabulary/Onomatopoeia

An onomatopoeia (オノマトペ) is a word or group of words in a language which have their meaning indicated by the sounds they mimic. Examples of English onomatopoeia include "meow", "roar", "buzz", "boom", "snap", "bang", and so on. In general, the Japanese word to refer to this concept is giseigo (擬声語).

However, Japanese not only contains words for sound effects, but also what is termed "Japanese sound symbolism" - basically, onomatopoeia describing things that don't actually make sounds. Officially, the former is called giongo (擬音語) and the latter gitaigo (擬態語). (Giseigo is an umbrella term that refers to both of these)

Giongo
擬音語 giongo are words which describe a sound. Most giongo are written in katakana. Some examples are:

Gitaigo
擬態語 gitaigo are words that describe an action, state, or emotion by an associated sound. They are typically written in hiragana. Some examples are:

.

Note on katakana vs. hiragana writings
In a typical style of Japanese writing giongo are written in katakana, while gitaigo are written in hiragana. However, this rule is not always observed. There are subtle nuances involved if you were to write one of these words in hiragana vs. katakana - katakana gives a kind of "harder" tone, while hiragana is "softer". Often, it is the author's discretion which to use.

Japonais/Vocabulaire/Onomatopées