擬態語
gobo-gobo, niko-niko, dara-dara, kira-kira, batchiri, shibu-shibu - the list goes on. All these are what are called gitaigo, or onomatopoeia, in Japanese. Gitaigo are visceral, vivid, essential to the Japanese language, lying right at its heart, and nothing will make you sound more like a native-speaker than peppering your speech with them.
But the scope of Japanese onomatopoeia is so huge that mastering it is one of the language learner's biggest challenges (much bigger, say, than mastering the spelling of "onomatopoeia"!)
Even more than when learning regular Japanese vocabulary, gitaigo are best learned organically, i.e., by picking up on them in people's conversations, noting what context they are used in, and then trying them out in your own conversations.
However, even those already familiar with gitaigo might not be aware of the various classifications within them.
There are five classes of gitaigo, and, strictly speaking, they are not all called gitaigo - only one class of them.
Giseigo 擬声語, literally "voice-mimicking words," giseigo 擬声語 refer to sounds that humans and other living things make, such as boo-boo ブーブー ("oink oink" in English), or ogyaa おぎゃあ ("mew mew" - a kitten's cry), or petcha-petcha ペチャクチャ ("prattle-prattle").
Giongo 擬音語, or "sound-mimicking words" are for representing sounds made by inanimate objects in the natural world, such as goro-goro ゴロゴロ (the rolling of thunder), or shito-shito シトシト (drizzling rain), or zaa-zaa ざあざあ (pouring rain or rushing water).
Gitaigo 擬態語, or "situation/state-mimicking words" (the word usually used to refer to all Japanese onomatopoeia) strictly speaking refers only to words describing the state of really inanimate things, like donyori どんより (dullness, gloominess), sara-sara さらさら (either rustling, murmuring, or fluent, smooth, free-flowing), or fuwa-fuwa ふわふわ (soft and fluffy), or bonyari ぼんやり (indistinct, faint, dim).
Giyogo 擬容語, or "content-mimicking words" describe the actions or behavior of a living being, such as goon-goon ぐんぐん (steadily), or sesse-to せっせと (industriously, beavering away), or kechi-kechi ケチケチ (stingily, tight-fistedly, parsimoniously), or pichi-pichi ピチピチ (bursting with vigor).
Gijogo 擬情語, literally "feeling/emotion-mimicking words" include expressions like kuyo-kuyo くよくよ (moping, fretting), gikut-to ギクッと (to be startled, feel a shock), or hara-hara ハラハラ (to be kept in suspense, to be on edge, excited), or chiya-haya ちやほや (to fuss over someone, pamper, spoil them).
However, these five categories are by no means watertight. For example, the last example, hara-hara, is also a giongo, describing a state of fluttering, trickling, hanging down, or, in the case of hair, straggling.
And the goro-goro that is above described as a giongo (the sound of thunder, or the sound of a heavy round thing rolling) can also be a giyogo, describing a state of lazing around not doing much.
But it's good to have a framework, no matter how porous, to awaken you to the various kinds of onomatopoeia there are, and how fluid some of them can be.
Have fun with gitaigo! It's surprising how they stick in your mind once you've used them a few times and - more importantly - once you've experienced that zap of recognition, that instant bond of understanding, from a native speaker.
© JapanVisitor.com
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gobo-gobo, niko-niko, dara-dara, kira-kira, batchiri, shibu-shibu - the list goes on. All these are what are called gitaigo, or onomatopoeia, in Japanese. Gitaigo are visceral, vivid, essential to the Japanese language, lying right at its heart, and nothing will make you sound more like a native-speaker than peppering your speech with them.
But the scope of Japanese onomatopoeia is so huge that mastering it is one of the language learner's biggest challenges (much bigger, say, than mastering the spelling of "onomatopoeia"!)
Even more than when learning regular Japanese vocabulary, gitaigo are best learned organically, i.e., by picking up on them in people's conversations, noting what context they are used in, and then trying them out in your own conversations.
However, even those already familiar with gitaigo might not be aware of the various classifications within them.
There are five classes of gitaigo, and, strictly speaking, they are not all called gitaigo - only one class of them.
Giseigo 擬声語, literally "voice-mimicking words," giseigo 擬声語 refer to sounds that humans and other living things make, such as boo-boo ブーブー ("oink oink" in English), or ogyaa おぎゃあ ("mew mew" - a kitten's cry), or petcha-petcha ペチャクチャ ("prattle-prattle").
Giongo 擬音語, or "sound-mimicking words" are for representing sounds made by inanimate objects in the natural world, such as goro-goro ゴロゴロ (the rolling of thunder), or shito-shito シトシト (drizzling rain), or zaa-zaa ざあざあ (pouring rain or rushing water).
Gitaigo 擬態語, or "situation/state-mimicking words" (the word usually used to refer to all Japanese onomatopoeia) strictly speaking refers only to words describing the state of really inanimate things, like donyori どんより (dullness, gloominess), sara-sara さらさら (either rustling, murmuring, or fluent, smooth, free-flowing), or fuwa-fuwa ふわふわ (soft and fluffy), or bonyari ぼんやり (indistinct, faint, dim).
Giyogo 擬容語, or "content-mimicking words" describe the actions or behavior of a living being, such as goon-goon ぐんぐん (steadily), or sesse-to せっせと (industriously, beavering away), or kechi-kechi ケチケチ (stingily, tight-fistedly, parsimoniously), or pichi-pichi ピチピチ (bursting with vigor).
Gijogo 擬情語, literally "feeling/emotion-mimicking words" include expressions like kuyo-kuyo くよくよ (moping, fretting), gikut-to ギクッと (to be startled, feel a shock), or hara-hara ハラハラ (to be kept in suspense, to be on edge, excited), or chiya-haya ちやほや (to fuss over someone, pamper, spoil them).
However, these five categories are by no means watertight. For example, the last example, hara-hara, is also a giongo, describing a state of fluttering, trickling, hanging down, or, in the case of hair, straggling.
And the goro-goro that is above described as a giongo (the sound of thunder, or the sound of a heavy round thing rolling) can also be a giyogo, describing a state of lazing around not doing much.
But it's good to have a framework, no matter how porous, to awaken you to the various kinds of onomatopoeia there are, and how fluid some of them can be.
Have fun with gitaigo! It's surprising how they stick in your mind once you've used them a few times and - more importantly - once you've experienced that zap of recognition, that instant bond of understanding, from a native speaker.
© JapanVisitor.com
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