Learn a Word: Japanese Animal Sounds

Be it the language that shapes the culture or the culture that forms the word, learn about Japanese culture through key words used in everyday speech.

 動物の鳴き声

Japanese animal sounds can be quite different from how other cultures perceive them to be. Here are a few of them, along with the names of the animals in Japanese, and their English versions. Unlike the various descriptions that can be found in English, the sound an animal makes is usually uniform in Japanese.

Fox きつね (kitsune)

The cry of a fox is described as “kon kon” （こんこん）.
English equivalent: gekkering, barking, purring, wailing

Chick ひよこ (hiyoko)

Chicks are thought to make a sound like “piyo piyo” (ぴよぴよ）.
English equivalent: cheep, peep, chirp

Monkey さる (saru)

Japanese monkeys go “ki ki” (きいきい)
English equivalent: chatter, gibber, whoop, screech

Frog かえる （kaeru)

The noise of a frog is described as “kero kero” (けろけろ）.
English equivalent: croak, ribbit

Horse うま（uma)

Horses go “hihiin” (ひひいん）.
English equivalent: neigh, snort, whinny