Talking Like the Animals
Words for Animals Sounds Vary by Language
If a cow says "moo" in English,
what does she say in Spanish? Mu, of course.
But when we're talking about sounds that
animals make, it isn't always that simple. Although
the words we give to animal sounds are an example of
onomatopoeia (onomatopeya in Spanish), meaning words
that are intended to imitate sounds, those sounds aren't
perceived the same in all languages or all cultures.
For example, take the lowly frog, who says "ribbit"
when he's in the United States. But according to Sounds
of the World's Animals, take that same frog to France,
and he says "coa-coa." Take him to Korea,
and he says "gae-gool-gae-gool." And in Argentina
he says "¡berp!"
Following is a chart showing the sounds that some animals
make in Spanish, the corresponding verbs forms where
they exist (in parentheses), and English equivalents.
Keep in mind that some of these terms can vary by country,
and that there very well may be other terms in use.
That shouldn't be surprising after all, in English
we use words such as "bark," "bow-wow,"
"ruff-ruff" and "arf" to imitate
the sound of a dog. There also may be a variety of spelling
Note also that in Spanish is is possible to use the
verb hacer to put a sound in verb form. For example,
one could say "the pig oinks" by saying "el
cerdo hace oink-oink."
Animal Sonido (verbo) Sound
abeja (bee) bzzz (zumbar) buzz
búho (owl) uu uu (ulular) who, hoo
burro (donkey) iii-aah (rebuznar) heehaw
caballo (horse) jiiiiiii, iiiiou (relinchar) neigh,
cabra (goat) bee bee (balar) b-a-a-a-a
cerdo (pig) oink-oink, oinc-oinc (grunir) oink
cuco (cuckoo) cúcu-cúcu cuckoo
cuervo (crow) cruaaac-cruaaac caw
gallina (hen) coc co co coc (cacarear), kara-kara-kara-kara
gallo (rooster) kikirikí, ki-kiri-ki (cantar)
gato (cat) miau (maullar) meow
león (lion) grrrr, grgrgr (rugir) roar, growl
oveja (sheep) bee, mee (balar) b-a-a-a-h
mono (monkey) i-i-i
paloma (dove) cu-curru-cu-cú (arrullar) coo
pato (duck) cuac cuac quack
pavo (turkey) gluglú gobble
perro (dog) guau guau, guau (ladrar) bark, bow-wow,
pollito (chick) pío pío chirp
rana (frog) cruá cruá, berp, croac (croar)
tigre (tiger) ggggrrrr, grgrgr (rugir) roar, growl
vaca (cow) mu, muuu (mugir) moo
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