The 60 Easy Thai Onomatopoeia Words You Must Know
Original blog post: https://ling-app.com/th/thai-onomatopoeia/ (with audio🔊)
If you ask me ‘’what is the most entertaining part of the Thai language?’’ My answer would be learning Thai onomatopoeia words! Because they are super easy to learn and memorize as long as you know how to read and write the Thai alphabet.
I can hear you say ‘’wait, what is that on-o-mato-poe-ia you’re talking about?’’ No worries! You’ll find the answer to your question in this blog post. And right after that, you will learn the commonly used Thai onomatopoeia words.
Alright, if you’re ready, let’s move on!
What Is Onomatopoeia?
Onomatopoeia indicates the words that sound exactly like the noise it describes. The pronunciation of an onomatopoeia word is directly influenced by the sound it produces in real life.
Let me give you some examples from English to make it more clear. Here are some of the most common onomatopoeia words in the English language:
- boing
- zip
- splash
- clap
- knock
- pitter-patter
- ping-pong
When these words are used in context, you can almost hear what they sound like in your head.
Fun Fact
The word onomatopoeia comes from the combination of two Greek words, ‘’onoma’’ meaning “name” and ‘’poiein’’ meaning “to make,” so onomatopoeia literally means “to make a name.”
Animal Sounds In Thai Onomatopoeia
When we talk about onomatopoeia, the first thing that comes to mind is animal sounds. For example, a dog walking by and barking “woof woof” or a cat “meowing” on your lap.
As in any other language, animal sounds are written exactly as they sound to the human ear in the Thai language.
Let’s learn how to write down animal sounds in Thai!
Bee (ผึ้ง) — หึ่ง (hèung)
Bird (นก) — จิ๊บๆ (jíp jíp)
Cat (แมว) — เหมียวๆ (mĭeow mĭeow)
Chick (ลูกไก่) — เจี๊ยบๆ (jíap jíap)
Cow (วัว) — มอๆ (mor mor)
Crow (กา) — กาๆ (gaa gaa)
Dog (หมา) — โฮ่งๆ (hông hông) / บ็อกๆ (bók bók)
Duck (เป็ด) — ก๊าบๆ (gáap gáap)
Elephant (ช้าง) — แปร๋น (bprăen)
Frog (กบ) — อ๊บๆ (óp óp)
Hen (ไก่ตัวเมีย) — กุ๊กๆ (gúk gúk)
Horse (ม้า) — ฮี่ๆ (hêe hêe)
Monkey (ลิง) — เจี๊ยกๆ (jíak jíak)
Pig (หมู) — อู๊ดๆ (óot óot)
Rat (หนู) — จิ๊ดๆ (jít jít)
Snake (งู) — ฟู่ๆ (fôo fôo)
Nature Sounds In Thai Onomatopoeia
The second most common onomatopoeia words are nature sounds. For example the sounds of rain and wind or the relaxing sound that the leaves of a tree branch make.
Let’s see how nature sounds are written in Thai.
กราว (graao)
- the sound of rain falling on the roof, clapping, or rustling leaves
จ๊อก (jaawk)
- the sound of gurgling
อู้ (uu)
- the sound of wind woooo, woosh
ติ๋ง (dting)
- the sound of dripping water
จุ๋ม (joom)
- the sound of a stone or pebble being thrown into a pond
ซู่ (suu)
- to splash, slosh, or pour down
ซู่ (suu)
- the sound of rain
ต๋อม (dtaawm)
- plop; the sound of a stone falling into the water
เปรี้ยง (bpriiang)
- the sound of thunder
Collision Sounds In Thai Onomatopoeia
What is meant by collision sounds is the sound occurs when two objects knock into each other. They usually begin with cl- and th-. The most basic example would be clapping. The ‘’clap’’ sound is a result of hitting your hands with one another.
Let’s see more examples in Thai.
เผียะ (phia)
- the sound of slapping
ก๊อกแก๊ก (gaawk gaaek)
- the sound of footsteps
กริก (grik)
- click; the sound of a key turning in a keyhole
ครืดคราด (khreuut khraat)
- the sound of dragging heavy things, rumbling
โครม (khro:hm)
- the sound of being crushed
ฉับ (choop)
- the sound of dull stabbing
โป๊ก (bpo:hk)
- the sound of knocking on wood, hammering
ต๊อกแต๊ก (dtaawk dtaaek)
- the sound of clunking
ปึ่ก (bpeuk)
- the sound of a thud
Vocal Onomatopoeia Words In Thai
Vocal onomatopoeia sounds are human-made sounds that don’t really have a meaning in the spoken language. These sounds can come from the back of your throat or come out of the mouth through the lips. They often begin with gr- and mu- in English. Such as groaning, and moaning.
Let’s see the vocal onomatopoeia words in Thai.
พึมพำ (pheum pham)
- grumbling sound, to grumble
เอ๋ง (ăyng)
- whimper; the sound of an injured dog whimpering
ซี้ด (seet)
- the sound produced when eating something hot and spicy
หวูด (wuut)
- the sound of a whistle
อืมม์ (euum)
- Hmmm…
ฟี้ (feeh)
- the sound of snoring
ครอก (khraawk)
- the sound of death rattles
Other Onomatopoeia Words In The Thai Language
กริ๊งกร๊าง (gring graang)
- old-fashioned telephone ringing
กรี๊ดกร๊าด (greet graat)
- the sound of screaming shrilly; screech-like
กรุ๊งกริ๊ง (groong gring)
- the sound of jingling, and tinkling
โป๊ะ (bpó)
- the sound of a balloon or bubble bursting
แควก (khwaaek)
- the sound of ripping or tearing
จ๊อกแจ๊ก (jaawk jaaek)
- noise; low level chatter
ตุ้บตั้บ (dtoop dtap)
- thumping sound
บรื๋อ (breuu)
- brr; the sensation of cold weather
บึ้ม (beum)
- boom; the sound of an explosion
ปัง (bpang)
- bang
เปรี๊ยะ (bpria)
- the sound of the floor creaking
เป๊าะ (bpaw)
- pop pop; the sound of a gun
แชะ (cháe)
- the sound of a camera shutter
วะฮะฮ่า (wa ha haa)
- villainous laughter
ว้าก (waak)
- children’s cry, loud cry
เอี๊ยด (iiat)
- squeak; the sound of squeaking
เอี๊ยดอ๊าด (iiat aat)
- the sound of stairs creaking
ฮัดเช่ย (hat cheeuy)
- ahchoo; the sound of sneezing
ฮา (haa)
- sound of loud laughter
ฮิ้วว์ (hiu)
- Ha, ha
I’m sure you will hear these words a lot in Thailand if you pay attention to the sounds in your environment. Of course, there are much more onomatopoeia words in Thai but these are the most common ones.
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