How Chinese People Think Animals Sound

YANGYANG CHENG | OCTOBER 21, 2015

Children raised in the US know that a cow says, “Moo”, a dog says, “Woof”, and a pig says, "Oink". But you might be surprised to learn that animals, just like humans, don’t always speak the same language!

Of course this doesn't mean that animals of the same species can speak different languages. I mean, we all know that a Canadian pig and a Chinese pig are both still pigs (the Canadian one just has better tasting bacon)! :)

It’s because we humans attempt to translate the natural sounds of pigs oinking, ducks quacking, and cats meowing into words that we can actually pronounce in our own languages.

“Oink”, “quack”, and “meow” are all examples of onomatopoeias, or 拟声词 (nǐ shēng cí) , that help us to mimic animals, weather, machines, and other naturally-occuring sounds.

Learning animal sounds through song

Mimicking sounds is such an important part of any language. Without being able to copy other people from an early age, we would never learn how to communicate with each other! And a great way to learn how to communicate is through song. The below viral videos from recent years prove that animal sounds can be both entertaining and educational.

1. The Little Chick Cheep - 小鸡哔哔 (xiǎo jī bì bì)

This video recently hit China and has spread to every corner of the Chinese web. While the song is extremely catchy—and maybe slightly annoying after a few listens—it teaches many useful farm-related sound words.

Watch here if you cannot access Youtube.

2. "The Fox" by Ylvis

There’s nothing quite as fun as trying to imitate an animal in your mother tongue. And no one does it like the Norwegian comedy duo Ylvis who ruled the internet in 2013 with their attempt to figure out what a fox actually says. I'm sure you remember this song! :)