Japanese makes heavy use of onomatopoeia and mimetic words — they make the language vivid, but they also pose plenty of challenges for translators.

Below we list Japanese onomatopoeia and mimetic words by category, together with reference translations in both Chinese and English.

Common Onomatopoeia and Mimetic Words

1. 擬音語 (Giongo) — Imitating Real Sounds

Animal Calls

Japanese Reading Chinese English
ワンワン wanwan 汪汪 woof woof
ニャーニャー nyānyā 喵喵 meow meow
モーモー mōmō 哞哞 moo moo
コケコッコー kokekokkō 咯咯咯 cock-a-doodle-doo
ケロケロ kerokero 呱呱 ribbit ribbit
チューチュー chūchū 吱吱 squeak squeak
ヒヒーン hihīn 咴咴 neigh

Nature and Weather

Japanese Reading Chinese English
ザーザー zāzā 哗哗（大雨） pouring
シトシト shitoshiro 淅淅沥沥 drizzling
ゴロゴロ gorogoro 轰隆隆 rumble
ピカピカ pikapika 一闪一闪 flash / sparkle
ヒュー hyū 呼——（风声） whoosh
ポツポツ potsupotsu 滴滴答答 pitter-patter
パラパラ parapara 噼里啪啦（小雨） sprinkling

Objects and Actions

Japanese Reading Chinese English
バン ban 砰 bang
ドカーン dokān 轰 boom
ガシャーン gashān 哗啦（碎裂） crash / smash
ドンドン dondon 咚咚 thump thump
カチカチ kachikachi 咔哒咔哒 tick-tock / clatter
シュッ shu 嗖 swish
パチパチ pachipachi 噼啪 / 啪啪（鼓掌） crackle / clap
ゴトゴト gotogoto 咕咚咕咚 rattle
ガタガタ gatagata 嘎吱嘎吱 / 哐当 clatter / rattle

2. 擬態語 (Gitaigo) — Describing States and Appearances

Visual States

Japanese Reading Chinese English
キラキラ kirakira 闪闪发光 sparkle / glitter
ピカピカ pikapika 亮晶晶 shiny / gleaming
フワフワ fuwafuwa 软绵绵 / 蓬松 fluffy / soft
ツルツル tsurutsuru 滑溜溜 smooth / slippery
ザラザラ zarazara 粗糙 rough / gritty
ベトベト betobeto 黏糊糊 sticky
グチャグチャ guchagucha 乱七八糟 / 黏糊糊 messy / squishy
ボロボロ boroboro 破破烂烂 worn-out / tattered
ツヤツヤ tsuyatsuya 油光发亮 glossy
カラカラ karakara 干巴巴 dry / parched

Manner and Movement

Japanese Reading Chinese English
ゆっくり yukkuri 慢慢地 slowly
そっと sotto 轻轻地 / 悄悄地 gently / quietly
じっと jitto 一动不动 / 盯着 still / staring
ぐっすり gussuri 酣睡 soundly
ふらふら furafura 摇摇晃晃 / 晕乎乎 dizzy / wobbly
ぶらぶら burabura 溜达 / 闲逛 strolling / wandering
ゴロゴロ gorogoro 懒洋洋地躺 lazing around
パクパク pakupaku 大口大口（吃） munching
ペラペラ perapera 流利（说话） fluently
ドサドサ dosadosa 哗啦哗啦（倒下） thudding

3. 擬情語 (Gijōgo) — Describing Feelings and Emotions

Japanese Reading Chinese English
ドキドキ dokidoki 扑通扑通 / 心怦怦跳 thump thump
ワクワク wakuwaku 兴奋不已 excited / thrilled
イライラ iraira 烦躁 / 心急火燎 irritated / frustrated
ムカムカ mukamuka 恶心 / 火冒三丈 annoyed / queasy
ウキウキ ukiuki 兴高采烈 cheerful / buoyant
ハラハラ harahara 提心吊胆 anxious / on edge
グスン gusun 抽泣 / 吸鼻子 sniffle
ニコニコ nikoniko 笑眯眯 smiling
クヨクヨ kuyokuyo 闷闷不乐 / 纠结 moping / brooding
ズキズキ zukizuki 一阵阵刺痛 throbbing
ソワソワ sowasowa 坐立不安 restless / fidgety
ガッカリ gakkari 失望 / 泄气 disappointed

Translation Methods

Japanese has an enormous number of onomatopoeic and mimetic words, and many of them have no ready-made equivalent in Chinese or English. Translators therefore usually fall back on two core strategies: replacing them with an onomatopoeic word, or rendering them descriptively.

1. Replacing with an Onomatopoeic Word

Find an onomatopoeic word in the target language that matches the original. There are two ways to do this.

1.1 Use an Existing Onomatopoeic Word in the Target Language

If the target language has an onomatopoeic word close in meaning and feel, simply substitute it.

Japanese Chinese English
ドキドキ 扑通扑通 Thump thump / Ba-dump
バン 砰！ BAM!
ドカーン 轰！ BOOM!
シュッ 嗖！ Swish
ワンワン 汪汪 Woof woof
ニャーニャー 喵喵 Meow meow
ザーザー 哗哗 Pouring
ガシャーン 哗啦！ Crash!

1.2 Transliteration (Romaji) Plus a Gloss

If no suitable onomatopoeic word exists in the target language, or you want to keep the Japanese flavor, you can keep the romaji transliteration and add a gloss to convey the meaning. This approach is very common in fan translations.

Japanese Chinese English
ドキドキ 多基多基（心跳声） Doki doki (heartbeat)
ギャー 嘎——！（惨叫） Gyaaah! (scream)
ワクワク 哇库哇库（兴奋） Waku waku (excitement)

2. Rendering Descriptively

If there is no matching onomatopoeic word and a transliteration would only get in the way of understanding, describe the sound, state or action in ordinary words. This is the usual approach for gitaigo and gijōgo.

Japanese Chinese English
しっとり 轻轻地 / 柔和地 softly
じっと 一动不动地盯着 staring intently
そっと 悄悄地 / 轻轻地 quietly / gently
ぐっすり 沉沉地（睡着） soundly
シーン 一片寂静 silence
ニコニコ 笑眯眯 smiling
ワクワク 兴奋不已 excited

A Real Example

Now that we have seen the examples above, let’s translate an actual image, taken from volume 18 of Detective Conan.

Sound effect Position Chinese English Approach
ガラ Top right 哗啦 / 嘎啦 Clack / Rattle Onomatopoeic replacement
ワー Middle panel 哇——！ Waah! Onomatopoeic replacement
スタ (×3) Bottom left 嗒、嗒、嗒 Tap, tap, tap Onomatopoeic replacement

In practice you’ll find that these are not always familiar four-kana sound effects — the author builds them on common expressions. That is when you have to translate flexibly.

Typesetting the Result

Below we use the computer-aided comic translation software ImageTrans to remove the text from the original image and put the translation back in.

The cleaned image with the text removed (using Lama Inpaint):

Our English version:

The official English translation:

I’ve included the official translation here as well. As you can see, it translates the sound effects too, though the words it uses seem to be made up.