{"id":175019,"date":"2024-03-01T07:35:51","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T12:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/animal-sounds-in-english\/"},"modified":"2025-02-19T05:14:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T10:14:08","slug":"animal-sounds-in-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/english\/animal-sounds-in-english\/","title":{"rendered":"18 Common Animal Sounds in English"},"content":{"rendered":"

Animal sounds are a type of onomatopoeia<\/strong>\u2014words that imitate sounds.\u00a0Some animal sounds and verbs are also used in everyday conversation to mean different things.<\/p>\n

Knowing animal sounds in English might seem unimportant, but these sounds are a part of culture\u2014and the sounds of birds, dogs, cats and other animals change from language to language. Let’s have a look at 18 common animal sounds in English, like meow, woof and neigh.<\/p>\n

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1. Cats: Meow, purr, hiss, yowl<\/h2>\n

As any cat owner knows, cats meow<\/strong> when they want something. When they\u2019re content (happy)\u2014like when you pet them\u2014they purr<\/strong>.\u00a0Cat purring sounds like a little engine!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unhappy cats might yowl<\/strong> or\u00a0cry out loudly. Or they might hiss<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>when they’re angry or in danger, which is also the sound a snake makes.<\/p>\n

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2. Dogs: Bark, woof, growl, howl<\/h2>\n

The loud sound that dogs usually make is a bark<\/strong>. Angry dogs growl<\/strong>, scared or sad dogs whimper<\/strong>, and some dogs (and wolves) howl<\/strong>.\u00a0A dog that says “woof” is not \u201cwoofing,\u201d it\u2019s barking.<\/p>\n

Dogs also make many noises depending on how big they are. Many dogs also make a woof<\/strong> or ruff<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>sound, but small dogs yip<\/strong> and yap<\/strong> (someone yappy is someone who talks a lot), while large dogs have a deep bow-wow.<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=tOkANpLTqvc&ab_channel=Jaw-DroppingFacts<\/p>\n

3. Horses: Neigh, whinny, nicker, snort<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019ve ever heard a horse\u2019s sound, you know it\u2019s hard to describe. In English, the sound is written as a neigh<\/strong> and is called a whinny<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The word “whinny” is another attempt to write the sound a horse makes, or might be related to the word “whine,” which is a complaining sound.\u00a0Horses also snort<\/strong> and nicker<\/strong>,\u00a0which is a low whinny.<\/p>\n

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4. Goats and sheep: Bleat, baa<\/h2>\n

A classic nursery song<\/a> mentions the sounds of goats and sheep: \u201cBaa baa black sheep have you any wool?\u201d<\/p>\n

These farm animals make the sound baa<\/strong>, which is unusual because we don’t normally see two a’s next to each other in English.\u00a0The double a’s are\u00a0used to show that the sound is elongated (lengthened). This cry is called a bleat<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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5. Pigs: Oink, squeal, grunt<\/h2>\n

In English, pigs say oink<\/strong>. Pigs also squeal<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>which is a high-pitched whine. Humans also squeal to show happiness (i.e. “She squealed in delight when she saw the present”).<\/p>\n

“To squeal on someone” also means telling on them, especially concerning a crime. For example, \u201cThe robber would have gotten away with the money, but his partner squealed to the police.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another pig noise is the grunt<\/strong>. You probably grunt sometimes too, since it\u2019s the sound you make when you do something physically difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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6. Cows: Low, moo<\/h2>\n

The sound a cow makes is moo<\/strong>. This sound is officially called a low<\/strong>\u00a0which comes from a word that means to shout, but you\u2019ll probably never hear it called that in real life.<\/p>\n

You can say “The cow is lowing,” but saying \u201cThe cow is mooing\u201d is just fine!<\/p>\n

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7. Donkeys: Bray, hee-haw<\/h2>\n

Donkeys have a two-toned call that sounds pretty funny. In English, this sound is called braying<\/strong> and is written as hee-haw<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The official British version is a bit different from the American though; it\u2019s written as eeyore<\/strong>.\u00a0Sound familiar? That\u2019s the name of the sad donkey in the Winnie the Pooh stories<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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8. Chickens: Cluck, peep<\/h2>\n

Female chickens are called hens and they make a clucking<\/strong>\u00a0sound. Baby chickens say peep<\/strong> and are called chicks. The word “chick” is also an extremely informal and somewhat insulting way to refer to women.<\/p>\n

Different languages seem to agree on these sounds pretty closely, but roosters (male chickens) are a different matter!<\/p>\n

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9. Roosters: Crow, cock-a-doodle-do<\/h2>\n

When a rooster calls in the morning, that’s called crowing<\/strong> (similar to the bird “crow,” but in this case, it\u2019s a verb).\u00a0In English, the sound of a rooster is written as cock-a-doodle-do<\/strong>.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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10. Birds: Sing, chirp, tweet<\/h2>\n

Birds of all sizes are known for their sounds, which are usually called singing<\/strong>. Birds also chirp<\/strong>, trill<\/strong> and warble<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

They also tweet<\/strong> and twitter<\/strong>,\u00a0which you might recognize as the former name of a very popular social media website<\/a>. It also used to have a bird logo. Now you know why!\u00a0<\/p>\n

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11. Doves and pigeons: Coo<\/h2>\n

Let’s get into some specific bird sounds. Not all birds sound the same in English! Doves and pigeons in particular coo<\/strong>. You might hear this sound early in the morning or if you live in the city with a lot of pigeons.<\/p>\n

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12. Owls: Hoot, screech<\/h2>\n

The owl\u2019s sound is called a hoot<\/strong>. Owls, and other birds of prey like eagles and hawks, can also screech<\/strong>\u2014a loud, high-pitched scream.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re known for not using too many sounds at all as they fly; they\u2019re silent predators (animals that hunt other animals for food).<\/p>\n

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13. Ducks and geese: Quack, honk<\/h2>\n

Do you think ducks and geese sound the same? In English, they make two very different sounds. Ducks quack<\/strong> and geese honk<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Both words are also used in regular English: cars and trucks also honk when they blast their horns, and a quack is a fake doctor.<\/p>\n

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14. Turkeys: Gobble<\/h2>\n

The sound a turkey makes is called a gobble<\/strong>.\u00a0That\u2019s also a word that means to eat quickly. So every Thanksgiving<\/strong>\u2014an American holiday when people traditionally eat turkeys\u2014we gobble up turkeys.<\/p>\n

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15. Bees and mosquitoes: Buzz<\/h2>\n

How many times have you been awakened in the middle of the night as a mosquito flew by your ear? Many insects like mosquitoes, flies and bees, make a buzzing<\/strong>\u00a0sound.<\/p>\n

In the middle of the night, the sound of a mosquito is more like a whine<\/strong>,\u00a0which you\u2019ve already read means to complain. We should be the ones complaining!<\/p>\n

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16. Crickets: Chirp<\/h2>\n

Crickets, like birds, say chirp<\/strong>.\u00a0Many crickets chirping together make a beautiful sound. One cricket chirping indoors can drive you crazy.<\/p>\n

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17. Frogs: Croak, ribbit<\/h2>\n

In English, frogs croak<\/strong> or say ribbit<\/strong>,\u00a0and you can thank Hollywood for that!<\/p>\n

Ribbit is the accepted sound for a frog in English, but only one frog species actually says ribbit, and it was introduced into our language by Hollywood when sounds came to the movies.<\/p>\n

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18. Lions: Growl, roar<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re out in the African wilderness and you hear a low growl<\/strong> or a loud roar<\/strong>,\u00a0get out of there fast! That\u2019s the sound of a lion, the \u201cking of the jungle.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Now you\u2019ll always know which words to use when you\u2019re talking about animals. These aren\u2019t brought up as much in English classes, but they\u2019re fun to learn.<\/p>\n

In general, onomatopoeia is used in stories and sometimes in casual language<\/strong>. To expand your vocabulary, you can pick up more onomatopoeia and slang through English media, like the videos on FluentU<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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