Onomatopoeia can be simply defined as words which imitate sounds such as bang, whack, ding or pop in English. But in Japanese, it gets a bit complicated.
Basically, there are two types – giango ぎあんご (voice/sound) words and gitaigo ぎたいご (action/emotion) words.
I love these words because they are funny to say and easy to remember.
Here are a few:
dokidoki どきどき = if one’s feeling nervous, as if one’s heart is throbbing
kirakira きらきら = sparkling like seeing fireworks
giragira ぎらぎら = shining, glittering like gold
pikapika ぴかぴか = flashing
buruburu ぶるぶる = shaking like in cold weather
gatagata がたがた = shaking excessively
Posts
