Question

give one example of onomatopoeia

Answer 1

The concept of onomatopoeia words can be difficult to understand without examples. Examples give you the chance to better understand the onomatopoeia concept and to see and sound out actual words.

This article lists five categories of onomatopoeic words with several examples of each. The list includes words with letter combinations that are commonly used to represent certain sounds. It isn’t an exhaustive list of onomatopoeic words, but it’s a good start to understand the onomatopoeia concept.

Common Onomatopoeia Letter Combinations

Many times, you can tell what an onomatopoeic word is describing based on letter combinations contained within the word. These combinations usually come at the beginning, but a few also come at the end.

The following examples have been grouped according to how they are used.

1. Words Related to Water – These words often begin with sp- or dr-. Words that indicate a small amount of liquid often end in -le (sprinkle/drizzle).

bloopsplashspraysprinklesquirtdripdrizzle

An onomatopoeia poem by Lee Emmett of Australia also illustrates many onomatopoeia related to water:

water plops into pond

splish-splash downhill

warbling magpies in tree

trilling, melodic thrill

 

whoosh, passing breeze

flags flutter and flap

frog croaks, bird whistles

babbling bubbles from tap

2. Words Related to the Voice – Sounds that come from the back of the throat tend to start with a gr- sound whereas sounds that come out of the mouth through the lips, tongue and teeth begin with mu-.

gigglegrowlgruntgurglemumblemurmurbawlbelchchatterblurt

3. Words Related to Collisions – Collisions can occur between any two or more objects. Sounds that begin with cl- usually indicate collisions between metal or glass objects, and words that end in -ng are sounds that resonate. Words that begin with th- usually describe dull sounds like soft but heavy things hitting wood or earth.

bambangclangclankclapclatterclickclinkdingjinglescreechslapthudthump

4. Words Related to Air – Because air doesn’t really make a sound unless it blows through something, these words describe the sounds of air blowing through things or of things rushing through the air. 'Whisper' is on this list and not the voice list because we do not use our voices to whisper. We only use the air from our lungs and the position of our teeth, lips and tongues to form audible words.

flutterfisstfwooshgaspswishswooshwhiffwhooshwhizzwhipwhisper

5. Animal Sounds – If you’ve spent significant amounts of time with people from other countries, you know that animals speak different languagestoo. Depending on where a chicken is from, for example, she might cluck-cluck, bok-bok, tok-tok, kot-kot or cotcotcodet. In the United States, however, animals speak English:

arfbaabarkbraybuzzcheepchirpchortlecluckcock-a-doodle-doocuckoohissmeowmooneighoinkpurrquackribbittweetwarble

6. Miscellaneous Examples – Onomatopoeia can also be found in literature, songs and advertisements as well. Consider the following examples of onomatopoeia:

"Chug, chug, chug. Puff, puff, puff. Ding-dong, ding-dong. The little train rumbled over the tracks."("Watty Piper" [Arnold Munk], The Little Engine That Could)"Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is." (slogan of Alka Seltzer, U.S.)

"Onomatopoeia every time I see ya

My senses tell me hubba

And I just can't disagree.

I get a feeling in my heart that I can't describe. . .

 

It's sort of whack, whir, wheeze, whine

Sputter, splat, squirt, scrape

Clink, clank, clunk, clatter

Crash, bang, beep, buzz

Ring, rip, roar, retch

Twang, toot, tinkle, thud

Pop, plop, plunk, pow

Snort, snuck, sniff, smack

Screech, splash, squish, squeak

Jingle, rattle, squeal, boing

Honk, hoot, hack, belch."

(Todd Rundgren, "Onomatopoeia")

Answer 2

I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles.