Learn Japanese Onomatopoeia with a Graph Chatbot
Group onomatopoeic synonyms in a graph and build a dictionary chatbot
In the Japanese language, onomatopoeic words, including “giongo (擬音語)”, “giseigo (擬声語)” and “gitaigo (擬態語),” are unique expressions that vividly depict sounds, actions, and feelings. These words are abundant in Japanese culture and are used in various contexts, including literature, manga, anime, and everyday conversations. From the gentle rustling of leaves to the thunderous roar of a train, onomatopoeic words in Japanese capture the essence of the sensory experience in a way that regular words cannot. For example, the word ピカピカ (pikapika) means “shiny, sparkling” and ゆっくり (yukkuri) means “leisurely without haste.”
But onomatopoeic words are hard for foreigners to learn. You cannot deduce their meanings from the spellings most of the time. For example, the word コツコツ (kotsukotsu) means “laboriously, steadily”, while its look-alike ゴツゴツ (gotsugotsu) means “gnarled, rugged”. And the word ゴホゴホ (gohogoho) represents hacking cough, even though its pronunciation does not sound like coughing at all. It takes time, examples, and lots of practice to internalize even the basic ones. And there are 1,190 of them in the JapanDict.
