55 What is that sound? (Funny/Wacky Japanese Onomatopoeia)

On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: What is that sound? This time we're talking about Japanese onomatopoeia and yes, we're talking about some really wacky ones too!

Topics Discussed

• About onomatopoeia in Japanese
• How onomatopoeia are used in Japanese
• The difference between giongo and gitaigo
• What giongo are
• What gitaigo are
• Examples of giongo
• What donburako means
• The story of Momotaro
• What jirojiro means
• What shīn means
• What gān means
• What utouto means
• What pekopeko means
• The multiple meanings of pekopeko
• Some of the funniest and most confusing sound effects in manga
• The crazy sound effects of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
• And much more!

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Sources, Links, Videos, Etc.

If you want to learn more about Japanese onomatopoeia, you may want to check out the English language articles below.

• Japanese Onomatopoeia: What are Giongo and Gitaigo?
• 15 Fun-to-Say Japanese Onomatopoeias (With Audio)
• 5 Japanese Onomatopoeia Words That DON'T Express Sounds!

This is the article that has the scans of the manga pages we used during the second half of the episode.

• 印象深い・面白い漫画の擬音(オノマトペ)の世界

To listen to the Ichimon Japan episode about Momotaro, check out the link below.

• Was Momotarō a thief? (All About Peach Bob) | Ichimon Japan 09

Check out the JapanKyo Docs YouTube channel.

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Don't forget to check out the latest episodes of the Japan Station podcast via the links below.

• Monstrous Wives, Murderous Lovers & Dead Wet Girls: Discussing Onryo w. Jennfer Yoo | Japan Station 82 By Tony Vega Posted on 6 days ago6 min r
• Shing02: Live from Hawaii | Japan Station 81

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Japanese Vocabulary List

Most episodes feature at least one or two interesting Japanese words or phrases. Here's some of the ones that came up on this episode. All information is from Jim Breen's WWWJDIC.

• Giongo
  • 擬音語 【ぎおんご】 (n) {ling} onomatopoeic word
• Gitaigo
  • 擬態語 【ぎたいご】 (n) {ling} (e.g., じめじめ、ゆったり) phenomime; mimetic word; word that mimics an action, condition, or manner that does not make a sound (e.g. "damp", "calmly")
• Mukade
  • むかで (gikun) (n) centipede

We Want Your Questions

Is there something about Japan that confuses you? Is there something about Japanese culture that you would like to learn more about? Is there something in Japanese history that you would like us to explain? We're always looking for new questions about Japan to answer, so if you have one, please send it to ichimon@japankyo.com.

Special Thanks

Opening/Closing Theme: Produced by Apol (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Fiverr)

Ichimon Japan cover art: Produced by Erik R.

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Full Show Notes

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