Animal Sounds 동물 소리

How animals sound in Korean — meong-meong, yaong!

17 words · Progress: Narae

1 / 17

멍멍 meongmeong woof woof (dog)

◀ ▶ ▶▶ ⛶

Repeat 1x2x3x5x Interval 1s2s3s5s Speaking speed Very slowSlowlyNormal Shuffle Loop Read examples too Romanization Meaning

In Korean, animals do not say the same things as in English. A dog says 멍멍, not woof, a cat says 야옹, a cow says 음매 and a pig says 꿀꿀. These sound words are adverbs from the standard dictionary, and they are used in children's songs, picture books, cartoons and everyday talk. This set has 17 animal sounds that Koreans really use, so you can match each sound with the animal in the Animals set. You will often see them with 하고 or 소리: 개가 멍멍 짖어요 (the dog barks woof woof). Practice saying each sound with expression, as if you were reading to a child.

Word list

Tap a card to start the player from that word.

• 
  멍멍

  meongmeong woof woof (dog)
• 
  야옹

  yaong meow (cat)
• 
  음매

  eummae moo (cow)
• 
  꿀꿀

  kkulkkul oink (pig)
• 
  꼬꼬댁

  kkokkodaek cluck cluck (hen)
• 
  꼬끼오

  kkokkio cock-a-doodle-doo (rooster)
• 
  꽥꽥

  kkwaekkkwaek quack quack (duck)
• 
  짹짹

  jjaekjjaek tweet tweet (small bird)
• 
  개굴개굴

  gaegulgaegul ribbit (frog)
• 
  맴맴

  maemmaem mae-mae (cicada)
• 
  어흥

  eoheung roar (tiger)
• 
  찍찍

  jjikjjik squeak (mouse)

• Ad

• 
  삐악삐악

  ppiakppiak peep peep (chick)
• 
  부엉부엉

  bueongbueong hoot hoot (owl)
• 
  뻐꾹뻐꾹

  ppeokkukppeokkuk cuckoo (cuckoo bird)
• 
  히힝

  hihing neigh (horse)
• 
  윙윙

  wingwing buzz (bee, insect)

Ready-to-use sentence

• 개는 멍멍 하고 짖어요.A dog barks woof woof.
• 고양이는 뭐라고 울어요?What does a cat say?
• 소리가 들려요?Can you hear that sound?
• 저 소리는 뭐예요?What is that sound?
• 아기가 동물 소리를 따라 해요.The baby copies animal sounds.

Frequently asked questions

Why do Korean animal sounds look different from English ones?

Every language hears and writes animal sounds in its own way, using its own sound system. Korean 멍멍 and English woof both imitate the same bark.

Are these real dictionary words?

Yes. 멍멍, 야옹, 꿀꿀, 꼬끼오 and the others here are listed in the Standard Korean Language Dictionary as imitative adverbs.

How do I use them in a sentence?

Put the sound before a verb: 개가 멍멍 짖어요 (the dog barks), or add 하고 울어요 after it, as in 고양이가 야옹 하고 울어요.

Word chart on one page

Save it and review whenever you have a spare moment. Feel free to share it with friends.

Save word chart image