mimetic words

tag

level 3words

translation

Korean mimetic words can be divided into two types: those that imitate sounds (like, “woof woof”, “meow”, “tick-tock”) and those that describe shapes, movements, or states (like, “twinkle”, “wiggle”). Korean has a rich variety of mimetic words that are naturally used in everyday conversation. Since they are often difficult to translate into English, it is best to focus on the feeling they convey rather than trying to find exact English equivalents. Here are some examples of Korean mimetic words;

Mimetic Words	meaning	example
멍멍, 왈왈	the sound of a dog barking	개가 멍멍 짖어요. The dog goes "woof woof".
야옹, 냐옹	the sound of a cat meowing	고양이가 야옹 울어요. The cat says "meow".
쨍그랑	the sound of glass breaking	컵이 쨍그랑 깨졌어요. The cup broke with a crash.
딸랑딸랑	the sound of a bell ringing	종이 딸랑딸랑 울려요. The bell rings "jingle jingle".
풍덩	the sound of a splash into water	공이 풍덩 빠졌어요. The ball fell into the water with a splash.
꼬르륵	the sound of a hungry stomach growling	배고파서 배에서 꼬르륵 소리가 나요. My stomach is growling because I'm hungry.
따르릉	the sound of a phone ringing	전화가 따르릉 울려요. The phone rings "rring rring".
똑똑	the sound of knocking on a door	누가 문을 똑똑 두드려요. Someone is knocking on the door.
살금살금	the way of walking on tiptoe quietly	고양이가 살금살금 걸어요. The cat walks quietly on tiptoes.
반짝반짝	the way something twinkles or sparkles	별이 반짝반짝 빛나요. The stars are twinkling.
흔들흔들	the way of swaying or wobbling	의자가 흔들흔들 움직여요. The chair is wobbling.
빙글빙글	the way of spinning around	아이가 빙글빙글 돌아요. The child is spinning around.
꾸벅꾸벅	the way of nodding off (drifting into sleep)	학생이 꾸벅꾸벅 자요. The student is nodding off.
엉금엉금	the way of crawling slowly	거북이가 엉금엉금 기어요. The turtle is crawling slowly.