69 Spanish Words That Imitate Life in a Onomatopoeic Way

Words often derived from sounds of animals, objects, or actions

Howling wolf — El lobo aúlla. (The wolf howls.) Both the the Spanish "aullar" and the English "howl" are likely imitative in origin. Picture by Tambako the Jaguar / Getty Images

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Updated on November 04, 2019

Onomatopoeia, or onomatopeya in Spanish, is the formation or use of words that are imitative or intended to sound like what they represent. A good example of this is the word "click" in English, which formed to imitate a clicking sound. Its Spanish equivalent is the noun spelled clic, which became the stem of the verb cliquear, "to click a mouse."

Onomatopoeia is not the same for all languages because native speakers interpret each sound their own way and may form words differently. For example, the onomatopoeic sound for a frog differs greatly across cultures. The croak of a frog is coa-coa in French, gae-gool-gae-gool in Korean, ¡berp! in Argentinian Spanish, and "ribbit" in the United States. "Croak" itself in an example of onomatopoeia.

In some cases, imitative words have evolved over the centuries to the point where the onomatopoeic nature of the word is no longer obvious. For example, both the English "touch" and the Spanish tocar probably came from an imitative Latin root word.

How to Use Onomatopoeic Words

Sometimes onomatopoeic words are interjections, words that stand alone rather than as part of a standard sentence. Also, interjections can be used when imitating an animal, like a cow's sound, which in Spanish is spelled mu.

Onomatopoeic words can also be used or modified to form other parts of speech, such as the word clic or the Spanish verb zapear, coming from the onomatopoeic word zap.

Spanish Onomatopoeic Words

In English, common onomatopoeic words include "bark," "snort," "burp," "hiss," "swish," and "buzz." What follows are several dozen Spanish onomatopoeic words in use. Spelling is not always standardized.

Spanish Word	Meaning
achí	achoo (the sound of a sneeze)
achuchar	to crush
arrullar	to coo, to lull to sleep
auuuu	howl of a wolf
aullar	to howl
bang bang	bang-bang (the sound of a gun)
be	bleat (as of a ram or similar animal)
berp	croak (as of a frog)
bisbisear	to murmur or mumble
brrr	brr (the sound one makes when cold)
bu	boo
bum	boom, explosion, the sound of being struck by someone or something
bzzz	buzz (as of a bee)
chascar, chasquido	to snap, to pop, to crackle
chilla	the scream or screech of various animals such as a fox or rabbit
chinchín	the sound of cymbals
chirriar	to creak
chof	splash
chupar	to lick or suck
clac	click, clack, a very brief sound such as that of a door closing
clic, cliquear	mouse click, to click a mouse
clo-clo, coc-co-co-coc, kara-kara-kara-kara	clucking sound
cricrí; cric cric cric	the sound of a cricket
croa	croak (as of a frog)
cruaaac cruaaac	caw (sound of birds)
cuac cuac	quack
cúcu-cúcu	cuckoo sound
cu-curru-cu-cú	coo
deslizar	to slide
din don, din dan, ding dong	ding-dong
fu	growl of a lion
ggggrrrr, grgrgr	growl of a tiger
gluglú	gobble-gobble of a turkey
glup	gulp
guau	bow-wow, dog bark
hipo, hipar	hiccup, to hiccup
iii-aah	heehaw of a donkey
jaja	ha-ha (the sound of laughter)
jiiiiiii, iiiio	neigh
marramao	howling of a cat
miau	meow of a cat
mu	moo
muac, muak, mua	sound of a kiss
murmurar	leaves rustling in the wind, murmur
ñam ñam	yum-yum
oinc, oink	oink
paf	sound of something falling or two things striking each other
pao	the sound of a spanking (regional use)
pataplum	the sound of an explosion
pío pío	chirp, click
piar	to chirp, cluck, or squawk
plas	splash, the sound of something hitting something
pop	pop (sound)
pop, pum	the sound of a champagne cork popping
puaf	yuck
quiquiriquí	cock-a-doodle-do
rataplán	the sound of a drum
refunfuñar	to mutter or grumble
silbar	to hiss or whistle
siseo, sisear	hiss, to hiss
tan tan tan	the sound of a hammer in use
tictac	tick-tock
tiritar	to shiver
toc toc	knock-knock
tocar	to touch or to play a musical instrument
trucar	to trick
tumbar	to knock down
uf	phew, ugh (often a sound of disgust, such as after smelling something awful)
uu uu	the sound an owl makes
zangolotear	to shake or rattle
zao	shoo (a shout for getting rid of animals)
zapear	to zap
zas	sound of being struck
zumbar	to buzz, to slap (the noun form is zumbido)
zurrar	to hit, to clobber

Key Takeaways

Onomatopoeia involves the use or formation of words that imitate the sound of something.
Words that imitate the same sound sometimes seem to have little in common in different languages.
Meanings of onomatopoeic words can change over time so that the imitative origins of words are no longer obvious.

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Erichsen, Gerald. "69 Spanish Words That Imitate Life in a Onomatopoeic Way." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/onomatopoeia-in-spanish-3078356. Erichsen, Gerald. (2023, April 5). 69 Spanish Words That Imitate Life in a Onomatopoeic Way. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/onomatopoeia-in-spanish-3078356 Erichsen, Gerald. "69 Spanish Words That Imitate Life in a Onomatopoeic Way." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/onomatopoeia-in-spanish-3078356 (accessed April 24, 2024).