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Questions tagged [onomatopoeia]

A word that phonetically imitates or suggests the source of the sound that it describes. Common occurrences of onomatopoeias include animal noises such as "oink", "meow", "roar" or "chirp", or human sounds like "yawn", "gulp" or "mwah".

See also Cross-linguistic onomatopoeias.

97 questions
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What is an onomatopoeia for heavy breathing?

The only one I can think of is "huff," but this isn't very good. I'm trying to find onomatopoeia for the way a person breathes just after they've been running hard.
language hacker
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Fail trumpet onomatopoeia

There are several sound clips that are widely understood to mean "(epic) fail". I think the most famous one is the one with the oboe or trumpet... 4 notes with declining pitch, the last one being stretched out. Is there a common way to capture that…
Emanuel
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Coughing captured in writing

My native language is German and although many people find German to sound like a coughing fit, the language totally lacks an onomatopoeia for coughing (real coughing). Nor can I think of one in English. Is there an onomatopoeia for coughing? If…
Emanuel
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What is the expression for coughing at the beginning of an utterance officially called?

I was wondering what is the name for the introductory "coughing" in English, i.e. when somebody clears their throat to start their utterance. For example: "Ekhm... Welcome! How can I help you?" Is "ekhm" the right way to spell such onomatopoeia?…
Hiena
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What is the proper convention for writing onomatopoeia?

Say I'm attempting to write a sound, as in 'poof', 'thud', or 'clank'. What's the correct convention to write something like this? Is there one, or is it a grey area as long as it's clear to the reader?
TheIrishGuy
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Onomatopoeia for foxes

"What does the fox say?" Onomatopoeia, and Alien Languages claims there's no onomatopoeia for foxes: But you don't find fox onomatopoeia in this context. Foxes tend to do one of two things: either they are silent, or they speak like humans do.…
Golden Cuy
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Writing out heartbeat sound

Is it correct to write out the sound of a heart beat as lub dub or are there other variations that are also acceptable?
Elizabeth
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Onomatopoeia for throat clearing

Clearing one's throat is a nice way to signal that special attention is needed. For example, two colleagues are making fun of their boss as she walks right by. She listens for a second and then ... clears her throat to say "I'm here". Is there an…
Emanuel
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Onomatopoeic words with repeated first syllable

I've come across a small number of onomatopoeic words whose first syllables repeat: borborygmus tintinnabulation ululation I was wondering is there is a word describing such words and if any of your have come across more examples. Thanks! Edit:…
Teddy38
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What is the word most commonly used for the the sound of glass breaking? (Onomatopoeia)

Please provide me with the word most commonly used for the the sound of glass breaking. (Onomatopoeia)
Sucharita Som
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Is 'to suck your teeth' the same thing as saying 'tsk'?

I am inclined to think that 'to suck your teeth' is a possible description for the sound 'tsk'. Is there any good source to support (or dismiss) my assumption? By 'tsk' I mean the onomatopoeia for a dental click sound that is used by English…
IanS
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Onomatopoeia for sirens (police, ambulance, fire engines)

I came across these two sentences in Peopleware The Furniture Police at one company we know even listed a number for spilled coffee on the Emergency Numbers decal affixed to every phone. We were never there when anyone called the number, but you…
Mou某
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Describing the sound of blood drops

I'm searching for a word describing the sound of blood drops falling on someone's shoulder. I found some describing the sound of liquids hitting a surface, such as tap, splat, and tuck. I was going for splat but can you give me some other…
vanity
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What's the sound of a starting car?

I've been looking trying to find an onomatopoeia for a car starting. I've tried to come up with it by making the sound myself, but I come up blank and quite frankly failed to mimicking the sound. It's actually pretty difficult to mimic once you've…
K. Lom
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How to write the sound of a pool break

I am trying to write the sound of a pool break. Something like "thwock", but I need some input to capture it best.
maudulus
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