In Japanese there are many words for things like the sounds found in nature and animal calls.
For instance, these are things like dogs barking wannwann (bow wow) and cats meowing nya-nya- (meow).
Animal calls sound like this to Japanese people.
There are also many words that express situations such as: ame ga zaazaa furu (It’s pouring down with rain), kaze ga hyuuhyuu fuku (the wind is blowing hard).
These words are called onomatope, which is taken from the English word “onomatopoeia.”
Since onomatopoeia is frequently used in manga, most Japanese learners will be familiar with it.
Many onomatope words are also used to describe human behavior.
For instance, when talking about laughing, the terms kerakera and geragera (which both indicate a big laugh) are often used.
In addition, laughter can be expressed in different ways that each have a different nuance using the characters ha, hi, fu, he, ho.
hahaha (ordinary laughter), hihihi (diabolic laughter), fufufu (fearless laughter / cute feminine laughter), hehehe (mischievous laughter, or embarrassed laughter), hohoho (woman’s refined laughter).
It is said that the Japanese language has four times more onomatopoeic words than English and more than any other language.
Japanese onomatopoeia is deeply related to the traditional Japanese religion of Shinto in which natural phenomena, including animals, are worshiped as deities.
自然界の音
shizennkai no oto
nature found in <sound>
動物のなき声
doubutsu no nakigoe
animal calls
などの
nado no
for things like
「ワンワン」
wann wann
wannwann (bow wow)
「ニャーニャー」
nya- nya-
nya-nya- (meow)
使われます。
tsukawaremasu.
(these) are things <used>
動物のなき声は
doubutsu no nakigoe ha
animal calls
日本人には
ninhonnjinn niha
Japanese people to
このように
konoyouni
like these
ざあざあ降る」、
zaa zaa furu,
<it>’s pouring down with
ひゅうひゅう吹く」、
hyuu hyuu fuku,
(is blowing hard)
状況を
jyoukyou wo
situations
表現する
hyougenn suru
(that) express
これらは、
koreraha,
these (words)
取り入れた
toriireta
(which) is taken
「オノマトペ」
onomatope
onomatope (onomatopoeia)
と呼ばれます。
to yobaremasu.
are called
ひんぱんに
hinnpann ni
frequently
使われる
tsukawareru
(onomatopoeia) is used
日本語学習者には
nihonngo gakushuu sha niha
Japanese learners
なじみが
najimiga
familiar with (it)
あるでしょう。
orudeshou.
will be
オノマトペ表現は
onomatope hyougenn ha
onomatope words
人間の行為
ninngenn no koui
human behavior
使われています。
tsukawarete imasu.
are used (to describe)
たとえば、
tatoeba,
for instance
笑う表現では
warau hyougenn deha
when talking about laughing
「けらけら」
kerakera
(the terms) kerakera
「げらげら」が
geragera ga
(and) geragera
使われます。
tsukawaremasu.
are used
大笑いすることを
oowarai surukoto wo
(a) big laugh
意味します。
imi shimasu.
indicate
「は、ひ、ふ、へ、ほ」の
ha, hi, fu, he, ho no
ha, hi, fu, he, ho
文字を
moji wo
(the) characters
異なる
kotonaru
(have a) different
ニュアンスで
nyuannsu de
nuance
表現できます。
hyougenn dekimasu.
expressed (in different ways that) can be
(普通の笑い)
futsuu no warai
ordinary laughter
(悪者の笑い)
warumono no warai
diabolic laughter
(不敵な笑い。
futeki na warai
fearless laughter
かわいい笑い)
kawaii warai
cute laughter
(いたずらっぽい笑い。
itazurappoi warai.
mischievous laughter
照れ笑い)
tere warai
embarrassed laughter
(女性の上品な笑い)
jyosei no jyouhinn na warai
women’s refined laughter
日本語には
nihonngo niha
(the) Japanese language
オノマトペが
onomatope ga
onomatopoeic words
世界で一番多い言語
sekai de ichibann ooi genngo
more than any other language
いわれます。
iwaremasu.
(it) is said
日本語の
nihonngo no
Japanese
オノマトペは
onomatope ha、
onomatopoeia
動物を
doubutsu wo
animals
自然を
shizenn wo
natural phenomena
崇拝してきた
suuhai shitekita
are worshiped
日本古来の
nihonn korai no
traditional Japanese
宗教、
shuukyou,
(the) religion (of)
神道
shinntou
Shinto (in which)
つながりがあるといわれます。
tsunagari ga aru to iwaremasu.
is [said to be] related