A LIST OF JAPANESE-ENGLISH
ECHOIC WORDS (IV)
Yoshihisa MORITO
[The list is the fourth of the series]
Abbreviations:
Japanese maa (int)
maa—maa (int)
int=interjection mim=mimetic
n=noun
v=verb
adj=adjective adv=adverb J=Japanese
> leads to
< is derived from
1)
2)
1) 2)
3)
English
(feminine) an interjection of wonder, surprise, etc. wow
an interjection to urge someone to do something well
an emphatic form of "maa" wow an interjection to urge someone to calm
down now, now
an interjection to mean something is
184
not very good nor very bad so-so macchi (n)1) the sound of striking a match scratch
2) the sound of a burning match J shuu
mago-mago (mim) J suru to get confused or not to know what to do maji-maji (mim) J to miru to gaze at
maki (n) J—ga pachi-pachi moeru Firewood burns cracking.
maru-maru (mim) J '--futotta plump
matsumushi (insect)Its traditional cry is "chin-chiro-rin."
matsuzemi (insect)=haruzemi J uin--
maza-maza (mim) J to omoidasu to remember something vividly mecha-mecha (mim) pell-mell (non-echoic)
mee-meethe cry of s goat or sheep baa, bleat (v)
mejiro (bird)Its cry is "chuui-M." tweet-tweet
meki-meki1) JNto kiga taoreru A tree cracks
down.
2) (mim) J — to ude o ageru improve
rapidly
mekkiri (mim, adv) remarkably, noticeably mera-mera (mim)said of a blazing fire
meri-merisaid of a large splitting sound crack
J Taiboku ga meri-meri to taoreta.
A big tree fell with a crack.
mero-mero (mim)J mero-mero ni naru to melt with love
meso-meso (mim)meso-meso suru to whimper
mezamashi dokeian alarm clock
J Mezamashi dokei ga jiri-jiri naru.
The alarm clock goes br-r-r-r-r.
mi'chiri (mim)completely; fully
mikoshia portable shrine
J Mikoshi o katsugu hito ha "seya-seya" to sakebu.
Those who carry a portable shrine shout
"Seya -seya ."
They also shout "wasshoi-wasshoi," "oisa-
oisa," or "orya-orya."
min-minthe cry of a cicada
min-min zemia kind of cicada
mishi-mishithe creaking sound you make when you
walk on the floor clamp, creak, clamp
mochi J mochi o pettan pettan tsuku
to pound rice dough
mogu-mogu
moja-moja (mim) moji-moji (mim) moku-moku (mim)
moo-moo
moo-moo J moo-moo to mori-mori (mim)
mota-mota (mim) mozo-mozo (mim) mozu (bird)
J
mu' J mu'to suru muka-muka (mim)
muku-muku (mim) yun/kichi-k)
munch, mumble said of thick hair
said of being timid and uneasy 1) said of rising smoke or clouds 2) said of doing something silently the cry of a cow moo, low
said of rising smoke cf. moku-moku 1) said of one's good appetite
2) said of well-developed muscles said of being slow and awkward said of fidgeting
a shrike
;hi to naku. A shrike shreaks.
to show anger
said of a bad temper
said of something swelling
186
mun-mun (mim)said of sticky air
J Kono heya ha mun-mun shiteiru. This room is stuffy.
munya-munya mumble, gzooph
mura-mura (mim)said of a feeling surging
J Sonna ki ga mura-mura okoru. to get the feeling suddenly muri-muri (archaic)
J muri-muri to kamikudaku musha-kusha (mim)
musha-musha
mushi-mushi (mim) mu'tsuri (mim) munzu (mim)
muzu-muzu (mim)
J Senaka ga muzu-muzu suru.
J Hana ga muzu-muzu suru.
mya-mya
naa, nah (int)
nakiusagi (n)
naku (v)
nama-nama (mim) naru (v)
neba-neba (mim)
necho-necho (mim)=neba-neba neko (n)
crunch to crunch
said of being angry chomp-chomp, chof-chof said of being hot and humid said of being sullen
said of clutching something with all one's might
said of being itchy My back is itchy.
My nose tickles.
the traditional form is "nya-nya"
used to catch attention or seeking agreement
a kind of rabbit living in Hokkaido It makes "ki-ki," "piruu," or "pi."
probably of echoic origin to cry said of being vivid
to ring
said of being sticky goo-goo (mim)
a cat
for
J Neko ha nyan to naku.
niago=nyago nian=nyan nii-nii
niinii semi (insect)
nika-nika (dialectal)=niko-niko niko-niko (mim)
nita-nita (mim)
niya-niya (mim)=nita-nita nobi-nobi (mim)
nokogiri (n) giko-giiko noro-noro (mim) no'shi-no'shi (mim) nu' (mim)
nuru-nuru (mim)
nya-nya
nyago-nyago=nya-nya nyan-nyan=nya-nya nyoki-nyoki
Cats mew.
the cry of niinii cicada also J shii-shii a kind of cicada
said of smiling
said of snickering titter-titter
a saw z-z-z
said of slowness said of heavy strides
said of suddenness or abruptness said of something slippery or slimy the cry of a cat miaow-miaow
said of something growing rapidly
o' (int) obake (n)
J bah J uuu odo-odo (mim) ogawa (n)
o or oh a ghost boo
00000000h
said of one's nervous attitude
a stream
188
J Ogawa ha choro-choro
also ogya-ogya
Yakushima Dialect Okinoshima Dialect Akita Dialect
Iwate Dialect Miyazaki Dialect Okinawa Dialect oho-oho (int) oi-oi (mim)
ooi (int)
ooyoshikiri (bird) J Its cry is "ge-ge"
oro-oro (mim)
nagareteiru.
sara-sara
A stream is bling.
a baby's cry gaa-gaa
ogie-ogie ogee-ogee ogogee-ogogee hugya-hugya uwaa-uwaa ho-ho
said of crying hey
or "gyogyo
murmuring/bub-
waa-waa, bawl, mew
ooshiitsuku (insect)= tsukutsukuhot
ootobai (n)a motorcycle
J Ootobai ha buru-ru to oto o tateru
Motorcycles make "
"brrr ."
oya-mah (int)=oya-oya oya oya (int)wow
a kind of migratory bird Jug jug
said of being upset or nervous )shi a kind of cicada
a motorcycle
va-r000m,
