To celebrate the 20th Week of the Italian Language in the World and help you understand Italian comic books, we have prepared a short guide to Italian onomatopoeias
Italians are famous for communicating with gestures, however, there is another way to make us understood without using meaningful words: onomatopoeias (in Italian, onomatopee – singular form: onomatopea). To put it simply, onomatopoeias are words that imitate a sound and, if you simply browse through a comic book, you’ll find many examples. Unfortunately, just like words, they are not universal because every language processes the same sound in a different way due to its phonetic system, which may prefer certain consonants or vowels to describe a specific sound. And now let’s venture into the fascinating world of Italian onomatopoeias!
Italian onomatopoeias: a short list
Ahia, che male!
By reading the following list, you will discover that some of the onomatopoeias you can find in Italian comic books actually have English origins.
Aaaah! = fear, surprise = paura
Ahahah! = laughter = risata
Ahi!/Ahia! = pain = dolore
Argh! = anger = rabbia
Bang = shot = colpo
Bla bla bla = chatting = chiacchierare
Bleah!/Puah! = disgust = disgusto
Boom = explosion = esplosione
Brrr = shivering with cold = tremare dal freddo
Brum = car = macchina
Clap clap = clapping hands = applauso
Clic = pressing a button = premere un pulsante
Drin = telephone = squillo del telefono
Eh? = surprise, asking for clarification = sorpresa, richiesta di chiarimento
Etciù = sneeze = starnuto
Fiii = whistle = fischio
Fiuuu = relief = sollievo
Gulp!/Gasp! = astonishment, surprise = stupore, sorpresa
Hic! = hiccup = singhiozzo
Lalala = singing = cantare
Mmmh = thinking = pensare
Ooooh = surprise = sorpresa
Oops = apologizing for a mistake or minor accident = scusarsi per un errore o un piccolo incidente
Sbam! = slamming = sbattere
Slap = slap = schiaffo
Slurp = eating something very tasty = mangiare con gusto
Sniff sniff = sniffing = annusare
Ssssh! = hush! = zittire
Tic tac = clock = orologio
Toc toc = knocking on the door = bussare alla porta
Tuu tuu = telephone busy signal = segnale del telefono occupato
Uff/uffa = exhaustion, boredom = noia
Wow! = astonishment, admiration = sorpresa, ammirazione
Yuhu/urrà/evviva! = joy, approval = gioia, approvazione
Zzz = sleeping, snoring = dormire, russare
What does the fox say?
Animal sounds are a particular (and particularly fun!) kind of onomatopoeia
Do you remember The Fox, the viral hit by Norwegian duo Ylvis? It was a sort of Old MacDonald Had a Farm of our times, mentioning animal sounds, and it was even used as a teaching tool for children learning English. But do you know how animals “sound” in Italian? If you don’t, read on and listen to Nella vecchia fattoria!
Bee, fly, mosquito = zzz
Cat = miao
Chick = pio pio
Cow = muuu
Crow = cra cra
Dog = bau bau
Donkey = ih-oh
Duck = qua qua
Frog = cra cra
Hen = coccodè
Horse = hiiiiii
Lion, tiger and big cats in general = roar/grrr
Mouse = squit
Rooster = chicchirichì
Sheep, goat = beee
Small bird = cip
Wolf = auuuuu
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