Japanese often use the sounds of nature as words. For instance, when you describe the states of raining, there are many onomatopoeias. “Ame ga potsuripotsri futte i masu (It is raining little), If you say shitoshito instead, it means “quietly” and za-za- “hard.” There are many other onomatopoeias. You must feel the status by the onomatopoeias.

You may also say potsupotsu instead of potsuripotsuri. Potsu sound implies dots. In Japanese. it is free to describe the sound as you like. In manga you find many conventional or manga artists’ original onomatopoeias,

Onomatopoeia is related to Japanese perspectives

Japanese onomatopoeias range from the sounds of nature, animals, birds, insects, vehicles to the words that describe the state of things (Eg. kirakira hikaru hoshi/shining star, and fuwafuwa suru zabuton/fluffy cushion) ,

It is said the development of onomatopoeia is much related to Japanese perspectives.　The Japanese has coexisted with nature since ancient era and been sensitive to the sounds of nature.

Lesson Experience by the Author