Japanese Onomatopoeia: Use ドキドキ and きらきら

Onomatopoeia: words that sound like what they mean

Most are doubled forms (ABAB). Katakana makes them louder or more vivid; hiragana softer.

Short answer: Japanese has thousands of sound-symbolic words, and they are not just for comics. Some imitate real sounds (ワンワン, a dog barking); many more describe things that make no sound at all: きらきら (sparkling), ふわふわ (fluffy), ドキドキ (a pounding heart). They are used in everyday speech, advertising and even doctors’ questions: ずきずき痛みますか, “is it a throbbing pain?”.

Animal sounds

Japanese animals “say” different things from English ones.

Using them in a sentence

Onomatopoeia works as an adverb (with と), a verb (with する) or a description (with だ / です).

Example	Meaning	Pattern
yukkuri (to) aruku	walk slowly	adverb + と
gussuri neta	slept soundly	adverb
doki doki suru	feel nervous, heart pounding	+ する
ira ira suru	be irritated	+ する
onaka ga peko peko da	I’m starving	+ だ
fuwa fuwa no pan	fluffy bread	+ の + noun

Feelings and the body

Many describe how you feel or how something hurts.

Nervous, excited

Annoyed, tired

Pain

Mood, manner

Weather and nature

Rain, wind and light each have a scale of sounds.

Food textures

Japanese food talk is full of texture words. Adverts use them constantly.

Word	Meaning	Example food
sakusaku	light and crisp	tempura, biscuits
mochimochi	soft and chewy	mochi, bread
fuwafuwa	fluffy	pancakes
torotoro	melting, gooey	cheese, egg
puripuri	plump and springy	prawns
nebaneba	sticky	natto, okra

How people move and act

Movement words describe how someone walks, eats or talks.

子供こどもkodomochildrenがga(subject)にこにこnikonikosmiling笑っていますわらっていますwaratte imasuare laughing

Kodomo ga nikoniko waratte imasu.“The children are beaming.”Why:

のんびりnonbirileisurely過ごしましたすごしましたsugoshimashitaspent (time)

Nonbiri sugoshimashita.“I took it easy.”Why: のんびり: relaxed, unhurried.

ぺらぺらperaperafluently話せますはなせますhanasemasucan speak

Perapera hanasemasu.“I can speak it fluently.”Why: ぺらぺら: fluent; the goal of this course.

Check yourself

Try each one, then open the answer to check and hear it.

I’m nervous (heart pounding).
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Dokidoki shimasu.
I’m starving.
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Onaka ga pekopeko desu.
It’s pouring.
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Ame ga zāzā futte imasu.
fluffy pancakes
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fuwafuwa no pankēki
She speaks fluently.
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Perapera hanashimasu.

In everyday sentences

Notice how much meaning one word carries.

試験しけんshikenexamのno’s前まえmaebeforeはwa(topic)ドキドキしますdoki doki shimasufeel nervous

Shiken no mae wa doki doki shimasu.“I get nervous before exams.”Why: ドキドキ + する: a verb.

外そとsotooutsideはwa(topic)雨あめamerainがga(subject)ザーザーzā zāpouring降っていますふっていますfutte imasuis falling

Soto wa ame ga zā zā futte imasu.“It’s pouring outside.”Why: ザーザー adds the sound and the strength of the rain.

星ほしhoshistarsがga(subject)きらきらkira kirasparkling光っていますひかっていますhikatte imasuare shining

Hoshi ga kira kira hikatte imasu.“The stars are twinkling.”Why: The first line of the Japanese “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” uses the same word.