Animal Sounds in Korean: 25 Words with Romanization and Audio

Animal Sounds in Korean at a Glance

Every language hears animals a little differently. The Korean dog says 멍멍, the pig says 꿀꿀 and the frog says 개굴개굴. These sound words belong to a wider group called 의성어 (uiseongeo, words that imitate sounds). The page sits in Onomatopoeia and Mimetic Words next to Korean Mimetic Words (Uitaeeo), which covers words that imitate movement or manner, and Korean Sound Symbolism and Vowel Harmony, which explains why the sounds have the shapes they do. For the animal names themselves, see animal names.

Many sound words are reduplicated: the same syllable or pair is said twice, as in 멍멍 and 짹짹. Reduplication gives a repeated sound. A few, such as 야옹, 음메 and 꼬끼오, stay single.

Which Animal Sounds Should You Learn First?

Start with 멍멍 and 야옹, the two sounds nearly every child's book includes. Then learn 음메, 꿀꿀 and 꼬끼오, which complete the standard farmyard. Learn the others in groups of three, pairing each with its animal name. The sound alone is less useful than the pair: 개 멍멍, 고양이 야옹, 소 음메.

• Say first. 멍멍, 야옹, 음메, 꿀꿀, 꼬끼오, 꽥꽥, 짹짹.
• Know the contrast. 꼬꼬댁 is the hen, 꼬끼오 is the rooster, 삐약삐약 is the chick.
• Recognise. 맴맴, 귀뚤귀뚤, 개굴개굴. They mark summer and autumn nights in stories.

The scene below is a farm with a pond, a barn and a tree, and ten animals as numbered items. 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

   개굴개굴

   Play

   gaegulgaegul

   ribbit (frog)

9. 9

   삐약삐약

   Play

   ppiyakppiyak

   peep (chick)

10. 10

    짹짹

    Play

    jjaekjjaek

    chirp (sparrow)

Pets (멍멍, 야옹)

Pet sounds come with a note. A dog has three barks: 멍멍 is the standard bark, 왈왈 is louder and sharper, and 컹컹 is deep. Cats say 야옹, and a mouse says 찍찍. 소리 is the word for sound, and it appears in phrases such as 고양이 소리 (a cat's sound) and 개 짖는 소리 (the sound of a dog barking). Avoid 개소리 on its own: it is a rude slang word for nonsense. Pets are the best group to start with because you can use them in conversation.

Example Sentences

All the sentences use one frame: animal + 이/가 + sound + verb. The animal takes 이 after a consonant and 가 after a vowel: 개가, 고양이가, 쥐가. The verbs 짖다 (to bark) and 울다 (to cry, call) carry the action: 개가 멍멍 짖어요, 고양이가 야옹 울어요. 짖다 is for dogs only. 울다 is used for most animals, including cats, cows and birds. Play the sentence, repeat it, then swap the animal.

How Do You Say Farm Animal Sounds in Korean?

The farm is where Korean and English differ most. A pig is 꿀꿀 (kkulkkul), which is not "oink". A duck is 꽥꽥, close to "quack". A cow is 음메, with a drawn-out ending. Chickens come in three: 꼬꼬댁 is the hen's cluck, 꼬끼오 is the rooster's crow, and 삐약삐약 is the chick's peep (in the bird group). Every farm animal in this group takes the verb 울다.

Words for the animals themselves: 소 (cow), 돼지 (pig), 암탉 (hen), 수탉 (rooster), 양 (sheep), 말 (horse) and 오리 (duck). Note that 닭 is the general word for chicken, and 암탉 and 수탉 specify the sex.

Wild Animals

Wild animal sounds are less standardized. 어흥 is the tiger's roar, a very common sound in children's stories, because the tiger is the animal Korean folk tales feature most. 으르렁 is a growl and is often used with 소리를 내다, "to make a sound": 늑대가 으르렁 소리를 내요. 아우우 is the wolf's howl. Because wild animals are rare in daily life, the words appear mostly in books, songs and games.

A pattern to notice: 어흥 and 으르렁 use the darker vowels ㅓ and ㅡ, while 야옹 and 왈왈 use the brighter vowels ㅑ and ㅏ. This is the vowel contrast between darker and brighter sounds that the sound symbolism page explains.

How Do You Say Birds and Insects in Korean?

Birds and insects are the largest group, with nine words. Bird sounds are often tied to the name of the bird: 뻐꾸기 (cuckoo) calls 뻐꾹뻐꾹, and 부엉이 (owl) calls 부엉부엉. Insect sounds mark seasons: 매미 (cicada) means summer, and 귀뚜라미 (cricket) means autumn evenings. 개구리 (frog) calls 개굴개굴 and 벌 (bee) buzzes 윙윙. Many names echo the sound they make, which is a hallmark of onomatopoeia.

Sounds in Children's Songs

Animal sounds are among the first words Korean children learn, and they fill picture books and nursery rhymes. This page does not quote song lyrics, since many are protected. Instead, build your own lines from the frames above: 소가 음메, 돼지가 꿀꿀 is a short chant that uses two of the words, and you can add a verb. A child's book usually pairs each sound with its animal and the verb 울다, so the same frame appears over and over.

Spelling varies between books. 음메 is sometimes written 음매, 꼬꼬댁 may appear as 꼬꼬 or 꼬꼬댁꼬꼬, and 야옹 can be stretched into 야오옹. The forms on this page are the common ones. These are not fixed dictionary headwords in every case, so treat them as sounds first and words second.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Animal sounds use tense consonants (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅉ) and doubled syllables, and each is a drill for those sounds. Standard pronunciation follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules, and the romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean.

Tense consonants are said with a tight throat and no breath, unlike English p, t and k at the start of a word. Practise 꿀꿀 and 꽥꽥, because they use the tense ㄲ twice.

Audio and Slow Playback

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

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Animal Sounds?

Five mistakes come up often.

1. Using English sounds. "Woof", "oink" and "ribbit" are not Korean; use 멍멍, 꿀꿀 and 개굴개굴.
2. Using 짖다 for every animal. 짖다 is for dogs only; use 울다 for most others.
3. Mixing up the chicken sounds. 꼬꼬댁 is the hen, 꼬끼오 is the rooster, 삐약삐약 is the chick.
4. Dropping tense consonants. 꿀꿀 said as [굴굴] sounds like a different word.
5. Leaving out the particle. Say 개가 멍멍 짖어요, not 개 멍멍 짖어요 in a full sentence.

The tense consonants matter most. A dropped tension changes the shape of the word, even when the vowel is right.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Run the deck in recognition mode until each sound matches its animal, then switch to listening mode and take the quiz. The deck holds all 25 words with audio, and your progress stays in your browser. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other decks.

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 animals, write the Korean name under each and the sound beside it.

Where to Go Next

Continue with Korean Mimetic Words (Uitaeeo) for words that imitate motion, then Korean Sound Symbolism and Vowel Harmony to see why the vowels differ. For the animals themselves, see animal names. To go up, return to Onomatopoeia and Mimetic Words.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Sound Does a Dog Make in Korean?

A dog says 멍멍 (meongmeong). A big or loud dog may be written 왈왈 (walwal), and a deep bark is 컹컹. The verb for barking is 짖다, so 개가 멍멍 짖어요 means "The dog barks".

What Sound Does a Cat Make in Korean?

A cat says 야옹 (yaong). Say 고양이가 야옹 울어요 for "The cat meows". The verb 울다 is used for most animal calls, including cats, cows and birds. Dogs are the main exception; they take 짖다 (to bark).

How Do You Say Oink and Cock-a-Doodle-Doo in Korean?

A pig says 꿀꿀 (kkulkkul) and a rooster says 꼬끼오 (kkokkio). A hen says 꼬꼬댁 and a chick says 삐약삐약. These words are not close to the English ones, so learn them as separate words.

What Are Korean Animal Sounds Called?

They are 의성어 (uiseongeo), words that imitate sounds. Korean also has 의태어 (uitaeeo), words that imitate movement or manner. Animal sounds are the first type, and the same sound-making pattern, with repeated syllables, runs through both.

Are Korean Animal Sound Spellings Fixed?

Not completely. Some words have variant spellings, such as 음메 and 음매 for a cow, and children's books may stretch or repeat a sound. The forms on this page are the common ones, and a dictionary from the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) 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.

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