Japanese sound symbolism - Definition and Overview

In the Japanese language, a sound symbolism or a mimetic word is a word that mimics a sound or a concept. English has similar words: "bang", "zap", "ding", "slither", "pop", etc. Sound symbolisms in Japanese are more freely occurring than in English — they are found in even fairly formal texts, mainly because they are more malleable than such words in English.

Onomatopoeia (擬声語 giseigo) 

words that mimic actual sounds.

Phenomime (擬態語 gitaigo) 

mimetic words to represent non-auditory senses.

Psychomime (擬音語 giongo) 

mimetic words that represent psychological states.

While onomatopoeic words abound in every language, phenomimes and psychomimes are much rarer.

See also

• Japanese grammar
• Japanese language
• Sound symbolism
• Kuchi shoga, a system for 'pronouncing' drum sounds