I say "Ouch", they say "Aie!"

One of my favorite English words is onomatopoeia. I love how it begins with a happy "o" and ends in what to me is sunny Brazilian-sounding "oeia"

Here are some English ones and their French equivalents that I've been hearing:


Yumm --> Miam

Yuck --> Beurk

Ruff ruff (as in dog) --> Ouah Ouah

Oink oink --> Groin groin

Quack quack --> Coin coin

Hey (as in, watch out, watch it, wait a minute) --> He ho (without pronouncing the "h"s, so it becomes eh, oh)

Achoo (as in sneeze) -- > Atchoum

Burp -- > Rot

Bang bang (as in gun) --> Plop plop

Wee woo wee woo (as in siren) --> pin pan pin pan


My all-time onomatopoeia however is in Korean. It is bogul-bogul - it denotes the sound made by a boiling liquid. As far as I know there is no equivalent in either English or French. And that is a shame!