What Is An Onomatopoeia

What is an onomatopoeia?
Onomatopoeia, pronounced ah-nuh-mah-tuh-PEE-uh, refers to the practice of

naming something based on a phonetic (spoken) imitation of a sound
associated with it. It can also refer to a single word of this kind: Hiss is an
onomatopoeia. Buzz, chirp, and honk are all also examples of onomatopoeia.
As with so many other words in the English language, we have classical

Greek to thank for onomatopoeia, which originates from the words onoma,
meaning “name,” and poiein, meaning “to make.”
In a way, onomatopoeias are a human attempt to bypass the step of

translating something into language altogether by just reproducing a sound in
order to refer to the thing or action that makes it. One thing that makes these
words fascinating is the way they fail to fully do that. For example, roosters
make the same sound all over the world, but the onomatopoeias for that
sound vary in different languages: In English, roosters are thought to say
“cock-a-doodle-do.” In Spanish, it’s “quiquiriquí.” In Tagalog, it’s “tiktiláok.” In
Hindi, it’s “ku-kudu-koo.”
This hybrid nature of onomatopoeias—the fact that they both imitate natural
sounds and are shaped by human language—makes them potent ingredients
to sprinkle into any kind of writing where you want the reader to be especially
aware of the sounds and texture of language.
When are onomatopoeias used?

Onomatopoeia is a figure of speech that is used in both speech and writing.
When you’re talking or writing about the physical world, the use of
onomatopoeia can make your language more vividly expressive.
There are a few general categories of language that are particularly rich with
onomatopoeias.
The animal kingdom
Onomatopoeias come in very handy when describing the animal kingdom.

There are many that represent the sounds animals themselves make, such
as meow or purr for a cat, bark or woof for a dog, quack for a duck,
and oink for a pig. These words generally function as both nouns and verbs:
I could hear the dog’s bark from around the corner.
The dog barked so loudly that I could hear her from around the corner.
Another way that onomatopoeias become attached to animals is when an

animal is named after the sound it makes. For example, many birds are
named for their calls, including the cuckoo, the bobwhite, and the chickadee.
Human sounds and actions
There are many onomatopoeias for sounds humans make and/or for actions
associated with certain sounds. Some examples
include achoo, belch, gargle, growl, hiccup, murmur, and snore.
Nature and objects

The language we use when we’re talking about nature and inanimate objects
supplies plenty of onomatopoeias. For example, the sounds associated with
water give us splash, gurgle, drip, sprinkle, and more. Objects colliding with
each other can clink, clatter, clang, or bang. The machines we use
may beep, buzz, chug, click, ding, honk, hum, or zap.
3 types of onomatopoeia
Writers, linguists, and literary scholars have been suggesting ways of sorting
onomatopoeias into categories for hundreds of years, and there’s still no
definitive list of such categories that is widely agreed on. The following three
groupings are one framework for thinking about the different ways
onomatopoeia can function, from narrowest to broadest.
1 Onomatopoeias that name sounds
The most basic and direct kind of onomatopoeia is a word that simply names
a sound by imitating it. Many of the examples of onomatopoeic words we’ve
already seen belong in this category, along with other words
like moan, whir, clack, rustle, and thud.
2 Onomatopoeias that name things connected with sounds
The bird names we discussed in the previous section—cuckoo, whip-poor-will,

and chickadee—are examples of this second type of onomatopoeia, one
degree removed from sound itself. These words don’t refer to a sound but to
something that has a certain sound associated with it. Another example is the
word whip—a whip is an object named for the sound it makes when in use; it
is not itself a sound.
3 Onomatopoeias that mimic something else physical
With this third, loosest type of onomatopoeia, the way a word is vocalized
relates physically to what it means, but the comparison is not to a sound. Two
good examples are the words smooth and craggy. It doesn’t take much effort
to say smooth, and the absence of hard consonants makes its sound
resemble the soft, unbroken feel of a smooth surface. When you say craggy,
on the other hand, with the hard c and g and its one accented and one
unaccented syllable, the sound of it calls to mind the rough, sharp, uneven
surface of the rocks and cliffs that it describes.
Onomatopoeia examples in literature
Onomatopoeia has long been used to great effect in literature, in a variety of

ways. These include when a novelist invents a new word to evoke a sound,
when a poet uses language not usually considered onomatopoeic to create a
soundscape that enriches their subject, and when a comics writer uses a
sound-effect word to create a vivid soundtrack for their text- and image-based
universe. Here are some examples, with the onomatopoeias in bold:
“Florry whispers to her. Whispering lovewords murmur liplapping loudly,

poppysmic plopslop.” —James Joyce, Ulysses
Besides the existing onomatopoeias whisper and murmur in the above
example, Joyce also created several for his own purposes. “From this hospital
bed / I can hear an engine / breathing—somewhere / in the night: / —Soft
coal, soft coal, / soft coal!” —William Carlos Williams, “The Injury”
In the above lines, the poet’s repetition of the phrase soft coal mimics the
sound of the train.
“Looks like the Schemer leaves nothing to chance! THWIP!” —The Amazing
Spider-Man, vol. 1, #84
Thwip is probably recognizable all over the globe at this point as the iconic
sound of Spider-Man shooting his webs.
Onomatopoeia FAQs
What is onomatopoeia?
Onomatopoeia is the practice of naming something with a word that

phonetically resembles its sound.
How is onomatopoeia used?
Onomatopoeia is often used in speech and writing to make language more

vividly expressive.
What are some types of onomatopoeia?

Some onomatopoeias name sounds directly by copying them. Others
resemble a sound associated with the thing they denote. Still others use the
way they are pronounced to mimic not sound but something else physical,
such as appearance, texture, or even a feeling.

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What is an onomatopoeia?

Onomatopoeia, pronounced ah-nuh-mah-tuh-PEE-uh, refers to the practice of

As with so many other words in the English language, we have classical

In a way, onomatopoeias are a human attempt to bypass the step of

When are onomatopoeias used?

The animal kingdom

Onomatopoeias come in very handy when describing the animal kingdom.

I could hear the dog’s bark from around the corner.

Another way that onomatopoeias become attached to animals is when an

Human sounds and actions

Nature and objects

1 Onomatopoeias that name sounds

2 Onomatopoeias that name things connected with sounds

The bird names we discussed in the previous section—cuckoo, whip-poor-will,

3 Onomatopoeias that mimic something else physical

Onomatopoeia examples in literature

Onomatopoeia has long been used to great effect in literature, in a variety of

“Florry whispers to her. Whispering lovewords murmur liplapping loudly,

Onomatopoeia is the practice of naming something with a word that

How is onomatopoeia used?

Onomatopoeia is often used in speech and writing to make language more

What are some types of onomatopoeia?

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