Chinese Onomatopoeia in Literature
It's been almost a year since I started reading the Harry Potter series completely in Traditional Chinese, currently I just recently started Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book #5).
Through my Chinese reading journey I have come accross a lot of Chinese onomatopoeia that you don't really come across with in other types of writings such as Internet articles, conversations, and newspaper articles.
In this post I go into detail about each of these sounds I encounter in literature.
咕嚕 (gūlū)
Definition: rumble, roll.
Used a lot when describing the rumbling sound of the stomach when hungry.
Examples:
- 他的肚子咕嚕咕嚕直響 - His stomach kept rumbling).
- 粗大的圓木咕嚕咕嚕地從山坡上滾下來 - Large logs came rolling down the slope
啪啪 (pāpā)
Definition: The sound of clapping, slapping, a gunshot.
Examples:
- 啪的一聲, 瓶塞飛出來了 - The cork popped and flew out of the bottle.
劈里啪啦 (pīlipālā)
Definition: The successive sounds of crackling.
Examples:
- 敵人劈里啪啦亂打了一陣槍, 就跑了 - The enemy fired off a few random shots and fled.
- 鞭炮劈里啪啦地響 - The firecrackers were crackling and spluttering.
嘎嘎 (gāgā)
Definition: Quacking sound made by a duck, a quack.
嘩啦 (huālā)
Definition: Sound of something falling or crushing to the ground, to collapse.
Examples:
- 墻嘩啦一聲倒了 - The wall fell with a crash.
- 大廳裡的擺設給打了個稀里嘩啦 - All the furnishings in the hall were shattered into splinters.
- 雨嘩啦嘩啦地下個不停 - The rain kept pouring them.
吱吱嘎嘎 (zīzīgāgā)
Definition: Creacking and grating
Examples:
- 門吱吱嘎嘎的打開了 - The door opened with a creacking sound.
嘶嘶聲 (sīsīshēng)
Definition: Hissing sound
Examples:
- 他聽見的很輕的嘶嘶聲 - He heard a hissing sound.
喳喳 (chāchā)
Definition: Whispering sound
Examples:
- 她在她媽媽耳邊喳喳了兩句 - She whispered a few words in her mother's ear.
咕噥 (gū nong)
Definition: Murmur, mutter, grumble
Examples:
- 他在咕噥些什麼? - What is he muttering?
鏘鏘 (qiāngqiāng)
Definition: A clanking sound.
Examples:
- 屋裡安靜了好一會兒, 只聽見刀叉餐盤的鏘鏘聲 - The room went silent for a long moment, only the sounds of the silverware and plates could be heard.