How To Describe Sounds In Writing

Screech!Hold up. Did you hear that?Boom!No, not that. Ring-ring. Not that either.Moo.There it is.

That is the sound of onomatopoeia, one of the most fun words to spell in the English language, and if you want to know how to write sounds, an absolutely essential literary device.

How does onomatopoeia work? And how canyouuse it to write sounds? In this article, I'll give you the definition of onomatopoeia, share a list of onomatopoeia examples, and end with a creative writing exercise.

How To Write Sounds: Onomatopoeia Definition and Examples

Onomatopoeia Definition

Onomatopoeia. A word that sounds like the sound it describes, e.g. bang, boom, pow.

How To Use Onomatopoeia In Your Writing

Adding onomatopoeia to your writing engages the reader's imagination and forces them to mentally say that word, invoking the image that you're trying to get across.

When you're writing, you may want the reader to hear the sound of gravel crunching beneath a character's feet.

James walked across the gravel driveway, his bootscrunchingat each step.

Not the best story I've ever told, but you get the idea, right?

Use Onomatopoeia to Describe Animal Sounds

Onomatopoeias is often used to describe the sounds animas make, like "oink" or "moo."

My favorite recent example of onomatopoeia is a humorous song about the sound a fox makes called "What Does a Fox Say" by the Norwegian group Ylvis.

Dog goes "woof"
Cat goes "meow"
Bird goes "tweet"
And mouse goes "squeek"
Cow goes "moo"
Frog goes "croak"
And the elephant goes "toot"
Ducks say "quack"
And fish go "blub"
And the seal goes "ow ow ow"

But there's one sound
That no one knows
What does the fox say?

Different languages have their own onomatopoeias as well. For example, American dogs say "woof woof," but French dogs say "ouah ouah," and Japanese dogs say "wan wan."

Make Up New Words With Onomatopoeia

Going back to our example:

James walked across the gravel driveway, his bootscrunchingat each step.

You could use the word crunch, which is a great example of onomatopoeia.

But if you wanted to take onomatopoeia a step further you could alter the word, or even make up a new word, to describe the sound. For example, say you have a very specific idea of what that sound is, so instead of saying that the gravel crunched, maybe you make up a word that, when spoken aloud, sounds like the gravel.Crinchorshimpchor even stomp-ch.

Onomatopoeia is, with a few exceptions, the one time when you're writing that no one will correct your spelling!

List of Onomatopoeia Examples

Here's a list of some of the top onomatopoeia examples:

baa
bang
boom
cheep
clack
cluck
crack
crunch
giggle
groan
haha
hee hee
moo
quack
ring
slam
smack
stomp
thwack
tinkle
toot
tweet
wham
woosh
wow

What is your favorite onomatopoeia sound word? Are there any onomatopoeia words I forgot? Let me know in the comments.

PRACTICE

Ready to put onomatopoeia to use? Great! Here's your creative writing prompt:

Write for fifteen minutes about a group of friends experiencing the last few days of summer. Incorporate as many onomatopoeias as you can. Post your practice in the comments, and don't forget to leave notes for your fellow writers.

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris, a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. You can follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).