Korean Onomatopoeia: 50 Words with Romanization and Audio

Key facts

• Topic: Korean onomatopoeia, words that imitate sounds. They are called 의성어 (uiseongeo).

Korean Onomatopoeia at a Glance

Every language hears the world a little differently. A Korean dog says 멍멍, a Korean clock says 째깍째깍 and a Korean doorbell says 딩동. These sound words are called 의성어 (uiseongeo, words that imitate sounds). Korean also has 의태어 (uitaeeo, words that imitate manner or shape), such as 반짝반짝 (twinkling). This page covers the sound words. The manner words have their own list on Korean mimetic words.

Sound words are common in children's books, comics, webtoons and daily speech. They sit in the Standard Korean Dictionary (표준국어대사전) as ordinary words, with their own spellings. A few are written in more than one way, so a dictionary from the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) is the place to check a spelling.

The page is part of Korean Word Types. It has three deeper pages: Animal sounds in Korean (25 animal words), Korean mimetic words and Korean sound symbolism and vowel harmony.

Which Sound Words Should You Learn First?

Start with the animal sounds, because they are the most common and the easiest to picture. Then learn the doorbell, phone and clock sounds, which you hear in daily life. Learn the weather and body sounds next. They show up in stories and in speech about your day. Keep the last group for later, since the pairs teach a pattern more than a vocabulary list.

• Say first. 멍멍, 야옹, 꿀꿀, 딩동, 똑똑, 짝짝.
• Use often. 콜록콜록, 쿨쿨, 꿀꺽, 쾅쾅, 주룩주룩.
• Recognise in stories. 와르르, 쨍그랑, 풍덩, 철썩, 바스락.

The scene below is a farmyard with ten numbered animals from the first group. Tap a number to hear the sound.

Word · 10

1. 1

   멍멍

   Play

   meongmeong

   woof (dog)

2. 2

   야옹

   Play

   yaong

   meow (cat)

3. 3

   음메

   Play

   eumme

   moo (cow)

4. 4

   꿀꿀

   Play

   kkulkkul

   oink (pig)

5. 5

   꼬꼬댁

   Play

   kkokkodaek

   cluck (hen)

6. 6

   꼬끼오

   Play

   kkokkio

   cock-a-doodle-doo (rooster)

7. 7

   꽥꽥

   Play

   kkwaekkkwaek

   quack (duck)

8. 8

   짹짹

   Play

   jjaekjjaek

   chirp (sparrow)

9. 9

   개굴개굴

   Play

   gaegulgaegul

   ribbit (frog)

10. 10

    어흥

    Play

    eoheung

    roar (tiger)

Animal Sounds

Animal sounds are the heart of Korean onomatopoeia. The animal comes first as the subject, then the sound, then a short verb. Dogs take 짖다 (to bark). Most other animals take 울다 (to cry, to call). This list gives only the ten you need first. The longer list has 25 words, including three kinds of dog bark, in Animal sounds in Korean.

Example Sentences

All ten sentences use one frame: animal + 이/가 + sound + verb. The particle is 이 after a consonant and 가 after a vowel: 개가, 고양이가, 소가, 암탉이, 수탉이. Play each sentence, say it aloud, then swap the animal.

Nature and Weather Sounds

Nature words describe water, weather and the sounds of the open air. Water has the biggest set: 졸졸 is thin, 콸콸 is strong and 철썩 and 첨벙 are splashes. Weather words such as 주룩주룩 and 쾅쾅 appear in forecasts, stories and daily talk about the rain. Several of these words also describe how something looks or moves, so a speaker can use them for both sound and sight.

How Do You Say Human Sounds in Korean?

Body sounds are very informal. You hear them in family talk and comic strips and from children. 에취 and 콜록콜록 are written when someone coughs or sneezes, and 꿀꺽, 후루룩 and 냠냠 mark eating. They are rarely used in formal writing or in a polite talk with a stranger. In a restaurant, noodle slurping is a normal sound, and 후루룩 is a friendly word, not a rude one.

Everyday Object Sounds

Machines and household objects have their own sound words. They are short and clear: 똑똑 for a knock, 딩동 for a bell and 찰칵 for a camera. With most of them the verb is 소리를 내다 (to make a sound), so the pattern is object + 이/가 + sound word + 소리를 내요. For example, 차가 빵빵 소리를 내요 means the car honks.

What Is the Difference between 의성어 and 의태어?

A sound word copies what you hear, and a manner word copies how something looks or moves. 졸졸 (water trickling) is a sound word. 반짝반짝 (twinkling) is a manner word. The line is not always clear. 주룩주룩 for pouring rain describes both the sound and the look of falling lines. Korean speakers use both kinds in the same way: before a verb, as an adverb.

Both kinds can also turn into verbs with -거리다 or -대다. For example, 두근거리다 (to pound, of a heart) and 반짝거리다 (to twinkle) are verbs made from manner words. The adverb use is explained in Korean mimetic words as adverbs.

Sound-Pattern Pairs

The last group shows how Korean changes a sound word to change its feel. Take 퐁당 and 풍덩. Both mean something dropping into water, but 퐁당 has the light vowel ㅗ and means a small object, while 풍덩 has the dark vowel ㅜ and means a big one. 달그락 and 덜거덕 work the same way. Korean linguists call the effect sound symbolism, and the sound symbolism lesson covers it in full.

Three patterns are worth knowing. First, many sound words are reduplicated, so the same syllable or pair is said twice, as in 땡땡 and 짝짝. Second, light vowels (ㅏ, ㅗ) feel small, sharp or quick, and dark vowels (ㅓ, ㅜ) feel big, heavy or slow. Third, tense consonants (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅉ) make the sound sharper than plain ones. Compare 졸졸 (a thin trickle) with 쫄쫄 (a thin, quick trickle).

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Sound words are a drill in tense consonants and repeated syllables. The Standard Pronunciation Rules (표준 발음법) of the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) are the reference, and the romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which writes tense letters (kk, tt, pp, ss, jj) but does not show tensing caused by a neighbouring sound.

• Tense consonants. ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅉ are said with a tight throat and no puff of air. Practise 꿀꿀, 딸랑딸랑 and 쨍그랑.
• Final consonants. A final ㄱ closes the syllable without a puff of air, and a final ㅇ is the nasal sound at the end of English 'song': 콜록콜록 (kollokkollok), 쾅쾅 (kwangkwang).
• Repeated syllables. Say both halves with the same weight. Do not rush the second half.
• Light and dark vowels. 퐁당 and 풍덩 differ only by ㅗ and ㅜ, so listen for the lip shape.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word and sentence has its own clip. The clips below replay five tricky words slowly. Play one, repeat it, then play it again and compare.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Sound Words?

Five mistakes come up often.

1. Using English sounds. 'Woof', 'oink' and 'ding-dong' are not Korean. Use 멍멍, 꿀꿀 and 딩동.
2. Using 짖다 for every animal. Use 짖다 only for dogs. Use 울다 for most other animals.
3. Dropping the tense consonant. 꿀꿀 said as [굴굴] sounds like a different word.
4. Mixing sound words and manner words. 졸졸 is a sound. 반짝반짝 is a look. Use each with a fitting verb.
5. Using body sounds in polite writing. Words like 꿀꺽 and 헉헉 fit stories and casual speech, not business email.

Tense consonants matter most. A word that loses its tension loses its feel, even when the vowel is right.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Run the deck in recognition mode until each sound matches its source, then switch to listening mode and take the quiz. The deck holds all 50 words with audio, and your progress stays in your browser. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other decks, and the Korean onomatopoeia flashcards deck is a separate 28-card set that shares many of these words.

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, draw five sources of sound, write the Korean sound word beside each and say it aloud.

Where to Go Next

Learn the full animal list in Animal sounds in Korean, then the words for movement and appearance in Korean mimetic words. To go up a level, return to Korean Word Types, or move on to Korean idioms. Animal names are on animal names.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are Korean Onomatopoeia Called?

Words that imitate sounds are called 의성어 (uiseongeo). Words that imitate manner, shape or movement are 의태어 (uitaeeo). Together they are often called sound-symbolic words. In everyday English, people use the single word onomatopoeia for the first kind.

How Do You Say Woof and Meow in Korean?

A dog says 멍멍 (meongmeong) and a cat says 야옹 (yaong). Say 개가 멍멍 짖어요 for 'The dog barks' and 고양이가 야옹 울어요 for 'The cat meows'. Other animals have their own sound words, and the first ten are in the animal group on this page.

Do Korean Sound Words Come in Pairs?

Many do. A syllable or pair is repeated, as in 땡땡 and 짝짝. Some also come in light and dark versions, such as 퐁당 (a small plop) and 풍덩 (a big splash). The vowel changes the size and feel of the sound.

Can Sound Words Be Used as Verbs?

Some can. Add -거리다 or -대다 to make a verb, as in 두근거리다 (to pound) and 반짝거리다 (to twinkle). A sound word on its own is an adverb that goes before a verb, as in 졸졸 흘러요 (it trickles).

Are the Spellings of Korean Sound Words Fixed?

Not completely. Some words have variant spellings, and books may stretch or repeat a sound for effect. The forms on this page are common ones. The National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) dictionary is the place to check a spelling.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid and does not mark every sound change, so rely on the Hangul and the audio.