What’s up people from A Dica do Dia, how y’doing? Well, today in our Dica we will learn about Onomatopoeia in Portuguese! Do you know what onomatopoeia is?
Onomatopoeia is an imitation of sounds through phonemes or words. What do we mean by that? We use an onomatopoeia in Portuguese when we want to write a sound or represent it without expressing exactly the sound.
When we want to mimic the sound of a bomb, for example, in Portuguese we would say BUM! How do you say it in your language?
Check out some examples of onomatopoeia and their meanings or situations of usage:
| Ah! | Shout, joy, surprise, irony |
| Ai! | Pain or emotion |
| Bang | Shot |
| Bibi/Fomfom | Horn |
| Buá buá | Someone crying |
| Buuuuu | Hoot/ Sound you make to scare someone |
| Bum | Sound of a bomb |
| Chuá chuá | Sound of water |
| Clap clap | Applause |
| Click/Clique | Snap, turn on, turn off |
| Cof cof | Cough |
| Crac/Crec | To break something |
| Dindon/Blim blom | Bell ringing sound |
| Fiu fiu | Whistle |
| Glub glub | Drink quickly |
| Grrrrrr | Sound of anger |
| Hã? | Sound of amazement, reflection, surprise, inquiry |
| Hmmm | Maybe, doubt |
| Hahahaha | Laugh |
| Nhac nhac | Chewing |
| Paft, paf! | Fall |
| Plaft! | Slap |
| Pinguepongue | Pingpong |
| Pow!/Pou | Shot |
| Pum | Crash |
| Quá quá quá/KKKKKK | Laugh |
| Snif snif | Cry, lamentation |
| Tibum | Someone falling to the ground |
| Tic-tac/tiquetaque | Clock sound |
| Toc toc | Knock on the door |
| Trim trim | Phone ringing |
| Tum | Blow |
| Ufff… | Tiredness |
| Vrum vrum | Engine start |
| Zum zum | A lot of people talking low at the same time |
| Zzzzzzzz | Sleeping |
Can you imitate an animal in Portuguese? That’s very funny, because the animal sounds also vary depending on the language. If you want to learn how to do animal sounds in Portuguese, learn it here!
Now, watch this video to practice your listening skills. Don’t forget to activate the subtitles if you need them:
Well, that’s it! Don’t forget to go to our youtube channel and watch more video Dicas like this one! Did you know that we have one about animals in Portuguese too?
If you want, please contact us to get to know a bit more about Rio & Learn, and about our Portuguese classes.
A big hug to you and we will see you next time!
Tchau tchau!
Click in the links below to see more related Dicas
Portuguese animal onomatopoeia
Sounds of the vowels in Portuguese
Portuguese L
Portuguese R
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