Onomatopoeia in Spanish

Quick Answer

An onomatopeya (onomatopoeia) is a word that sounds like the noise it refers to. For example, fu (hiss) imitates the sound an angry cat makes.

Onomatopoeia

You may have heard that animals make different sounds in different languages. ¡Eso no es cierto! (That's not true!) The truth is that people interpret sounds differently depending on the language they speak. The sounds themselves don't change! Speakers of Spanish and English often interpret the same sound in different ways, so the onomatopoeia for common sounds often differ.

Let's take a look at some examples!

Animal Onomatopoeia

Sound	Spanish Onomatopoeia	English Onomatopoeia
caballo (horse)	hiii	neigh
cerdo (pig)	oenc	oink
gallina (chicken)	co co co	buck-buck-ba-gock
gallo (rooster)	quiquiriquí	cock-a-doodle-doo
gato (cat)	miau	meow
grillo (cricket)	cri cri	chirp chirp
pavo (turkey)	gluglú	gobble gobble
perro (dog)	guau guau	woof woof or arf arf
polluelo (chick)	pío pío	cheep cheep
oveja (sheep)	beee	baa
rana (frog	croac	ribbit
vaca (cow)	muuu	moo

Other Onomatopoeia

Sound	Spanish Onomatopoeia	English Onomatopoeia
ametralladora (machine gun)	ra-ta-tá	rat-a-tat
asco (disgust)	puaj o guácala	ew o yuck
beso (kiss)	mua	mwah or smack
campana (bell)	talán talán or tan tan	ding dong
chasquido (snap)	chaso zas	snap
claxon (horn)	piii	honk or beep
comer algo rico (eating something delicious)	ñam ñam	yum yum
corneta (trumpet)	tu ru rú	tan-ta-ra-ta
estornudo (sneeze)	achís	achoo
explosión o choque (explosion or crash)	pum o cataplum	boom or crash
golpe contra el agua (splash)	paf or zas	splash
golpe contra el suelo (hitting the ground)	plaf o clonc	boom or crash
tambor (drum)	tantarán	dumdadum