20

I have always been interested in the ways that animal sounds are "translated" in foreign languages. Presumably, the sounds are the same to our ears.

In English:

  • Dog: woof
  • Cat: meow
  • Cow: moo
  • Duck: quack
  • Frog: ribbit

How are these translated by German ears?

Improve this question
  • 6
    Reminds me of a great French lesson: "What does quoique mean?" - "That's the sound frogs make in France." Might only work with a German audience, though ;) – OregonGhost Jun 23 '11 at 8:28
22

These are words which are commonly used in German:

  • dog: wau wau (verb: bellen)
  • cat: miau (verb: miauen)
  • cow: muh (verb: muhen)
  • duck: quak (verb: quaken)
  • frog: quak (verb: quaken)

Other animals:

  • rooster: kikeriki (verb: krähen)
  • donkey: i-ah
  • sheep: mäh or bäh (verb: blöken)
  • bird: piep piep (verb: zwitschern)
  • horse: - (verb: wiehern)
  • owl: hu hu
Improve this answer
  • 4
    @Gigili: Correct, though written summ summ in German. @splattne: Maybe the variants wuff for dogs and maunz for cats? At least I've heard them as much as the other ones. – OregonGhost Jun 23 '11 at 8:29
  • @OregonGhost: Just saw that in Takkat's answer! – user508 Jun 23 '11 at 8:31
7

Animal sounds are made up to sound similar when spoken (Onomatopoeia), using doubling of the sound in some times. Your examples will translate as follows:

  • Dog: woof = Wauwau
  • Cat: meow = Miau
  • Cow: moo = Muh
  • Duck: quack = Qua[c]k
  • Frog: ribbit = Qua[c]k

Here are some more examples:

  • Bird: = Piep[piep]
  • Bee: = Summ[summ]
  • Donkey: = Ia[ia]
  • Goat: = Meh
  • Sheep: = Mäh
Improve this answer
4

English Wikipedia has some nice links to this

Improve this answer
  • @ardila 5 years later? Sorry. – Debilski Feb 27 '16 at 10:29

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.