Spanish Onomatopoeia: Words that Imitate Sounds
Splash, thud, vroom, zap! What is going on in here!? It sounds like a bunch of superheroes are starting to battle it out at a pool party. Herein lies the wonder of onomatopoeia, or words that imitate a particular sound.
Now, read those four words at the beginning one more time. What images do you see when you read them? These words have the ability to evoke an image or sensation in your mind, rendering the communication that much more effective.
When we are young, we learn many of these words casually through socializing and watching movies or cartoons. For parents who are teaching Spanish to their preschoolers, be sure to include a rich variety of books and sounds!
As a Spanish learner, using onomatopoeia will enhance the creativity of your speech and writing. Your understanding will improve now that you know even more useful vocabulary. What’s more, you can better convey your personality and strengthen the impact of your descriptions of people, things, and their actions.
Since onomatopoeia is a word form of a sound, it is a word form of movement. As such, we have three categories of things that move and make noise while doing it: people, animals, and objects. These movements can express themselves as sound effects or they can function as verbs, which is a distinction we will explore below.
Let’s check out the most popular and useful Spanish onomatopoeia for you to start using right away.
¡Zas!
Spanish Sound Effects
If you are familiar with comic books or cartoons, you are no stranger to the value of sound effects. What would Batman have been without his staple “boom!” “whack!” and “pow!” is a question we will never have to ask.
The words we use to portray sound can enliven and enrich the scenes of a storyline and, if used correctly, it will do the same for your conversations!
The following sound effects are divided into the three categories mentioned previously: people, animals, and objects.
You will notice that some are similar or identical to English and that others can be used by any of the three categories.
People
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Achís
Spanish Action: Estornudo
English Onomatopoeia: Achoo
English Action: Sneeze (n.)
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Grrr
Spanish Action: Gruñido, enfado
English Onomatopoeia: Grrr
English Action: Snarl (n.), anger
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Hip
Spanish Action: Hipo
English Onomatopoeia: Hiccup
English Action: Hiccups
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Muac
Spanish Action: Beso
English Onomatopoeia: Muah
English Action: Kiss
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Ñam
Spanish Action: Masticar, comer
English Onomatopoeia: Nom nom
English Action: To chew, to eat
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Puf, buf
Spanish Action: Molestia por malos olores o cosas podridas, queja
English Onomatopoeia: Pee-yew
English Action: When something smells bad or rotten, complaint
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Uf
Spanish Action: Cansancio, algo repugnante o fastidio
English Onomatopoeia: Ugh
English Action: Tired, something gross, or annoyance
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Zzz
Spanish Action: Dormido
English Onomatopoeia: Zzz
English Action: Sleeping
Animals
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Auuuu
Spanish Action: El lobo
English Onomatopoeia: Owooo
English Action: Wolf
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Bzzzz
Spanish Action: La abeja
English Onomatopoeia: Bzzz
English Action: Bee
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Beeee
Spanish Action: La oveja
English Onomatopoeia: Baaaa
English Action: Sheep
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Croa-croa
Spanish Action: La rana
English Onomatopoeia: Ribbit
English Action: Frog
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Oink
Spanish Action: El cerdo
English Onomatopoeia: Oink
English Action: Pig
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Miau
Spanish Action: El gato
English Onomatopoeia: Meow
English Action: Cat
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Hiiiic
Spanish Action: La rata
English Onomatopoeia: Eeeek
English Action: Mouse
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Qui-qui-ri-quí
Spanish Action: El gallo
English Onomatopoeia: Cocka-doodle-doo
English Action: Rooster
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Clo-clo
Spanish Action: La gallina
English Onomatopoeia: Cluck
English Action: Hen
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Cua-cua-cua
Spanish Action: El pato
English Onomatopoeia: Quack
English Action: Duck
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Cri-cri
Spanish Action: El grillo
English Onomatopoeia: Chirp
English Action: Cricket
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Guau
Spanish Action: El perro
English Onomatopoeia: Woof
English Action: Dog
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Pio-pio
Spanish Action: El pollito
English Onomatopoeia: cheep-cheep
English Action: Chick
Objects
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Bang, pam, pum
Spanish Action: Disparo
English Onomatopoeia: Bang, boom, pop
English Action: Shooting
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Bip
Spanish Action: Pitido agudo
English Onomatopoeia: Breet
English Action: high-pitched whistle
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Boing
Spanish Action: Objeto elástico o algo que rebota
English Onomatopoeia: Boing
English Action: Elastic object or something that bounces
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Bum
Spanish Action: Golpe o explosión
English Onomatopoeia: Boom
English Action: Hit or explosion
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Chinchín
Spanish Action: platillos, hacer un brindis
English Onomatopoeia: Clink, chink
English Action: cymbals, making a toast
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Chucu-chucu
Spanish Action: Tren
English Onomatopoeia: Choo-choo
English Action: Train
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Clic
Spanish Action: ratón de la computadora, pulsar un interruptor, apretar
English Onomatopoeia: Click
English Action: Computer mouse, press a switch, pull the trigger of a gun
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Crac
Spanish Action: algo que se quiebra
English Onomatopoeia: Crack
English Action: Something that breaks
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Crash
Spanish Action: algo que se rompe
English Onomatopoeia: Crash, smash
English Action: Something that breaks
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Din-don
Spanish Action: timbre de la puerta
English Onomatopoeia: Ding-dong
English Action: Ringing bell, door bell
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Gluglú
Spanish Action: burbujas en el agua
English Onomatopoeia: glug
English Action: Bubbles in water
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Pfff
Spanish Action: algo que se desinfla o tiene un escape, queja
English Onomatopoeia: Pfff
English Action: something that deflates, has a hole, or is a complaint
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Plaf
Spanish Action: golpes, caídas
English Onomatopoeia: splat
English Action: Something falling
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Plof
Spanish Action: golpe en un líquido o en un objeto blando
English Onomatopoeia: plop
English Action: Something hitting on water
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Pom, porrón
Spanish Action: tambores
English Onomatopoeia: Boom, badum-tish
English Action: drums
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Ring
Spanish Action: Timbre, telephone
English Onomatopoeia: Ding-dong, ring-ring
English Action: Bell, phone
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Run-run
Spanish Action: motor de carro
English Onomatopoeia: vroom
English Action: Car motor
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Tictac
Spanish Action: reloj
English Onomatopoeia: Tick tock
English Action: Clock
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Tilín
Spanish Action: campanilla
English Onomatopoeia: ding
English Action: Little bell
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Toc
Spanish Action: golpear a un objeto, llamar a una puerta
English Onomatopoeia: knock
English Action: Hit an object, knock on a door
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Tolón
Spanish Action: campana
English Onomatopoeia: Ding-dong
English Action: Bell
Spanish Onomatopoeia: Zas
Spanish Action: golpe
English Onomatopoeia: Pow, ka-pow
English Action: Hit or punch
Spanish Onomatopoeia as Verbs
In our native language, we are very likely to use onomatopoeia verb-forms, especially when we are trying to paint a picture with descriptive words.
There is a big difference between “the dog made a mean sound” and “the dog growled.”
In the latter example, you can practically hear the dog’s aggression and probably even picture him baring his teeth. Again, the power of onomatopoeia is all about creating images and sensations in the listener’s mind.
Keep in mind that all three categories mentioned above—people, animals, and objects—can make use of these verbs.
Here is a list of common onomatopoeia verbs that are useful when describing in detail the noise that something makes:
Spanish: Chocar
English: Clash, crash
Spanish: Pegar
English: Smack
Spanish: Crujir
English: Creak, crunch
Spanish: Chillar
English: Squeak
Spanish: Chisporrotear
English: Sputter, fizzle
Spanish: Susurrar
English: Rustle
Spanish: Tintinear
English: Jingle
Spanish: Traquetear
English: Rattle, clatter
Spanish: Zumbar
English: Buzz
Spanish: Pitar
English: Beep
Spanish: Gotear
English: Trickle
Spanish: Salpicar
English: Splatter
Spanish: Sisear
English: Sizzle, hiss
Spanish: Silbar
English: Whistle
Spanish: Alular
English: Howl
Spanish: Balar
English: Bleat
Spanish: Maullar
English: Meow
Spanish: Cloquear
English: Cluck
Spanish: Cacarear
English: Cackle
Practice Makes Perfect
By practicing these fun and useful onomatopoeia, you will improve your Spanish and boost the quality of your conversations! Try them out next time you have to write a descriptive essay in Spanish or plan to teach someone some entertaining vocabulary.
Would you like someone to practice with? Check out our free online class that guarantees you’ll be speaking Spanish before it ends!
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