HangulyBelow are 36 of the most useful Korean onomatopoeia words, each with its Hangul spelling, romanization (how to pronounce it) and a real example sentence. Tap 🔊 to hear any word spoken aloud.
| Korean | Pronunciation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 두근두근 | dugeun-dugeun | Heart beating fast (excitement/nervousness) | 심장이 두근두근해요. My heart is pounding. |
| 펑펑 | peong-peong | Heavily (snow falling / crying hard) | 눈이 펑펑 와요. It's snowing heavily. |
| 졸졸 | jol-jol | Trickling (water flowing softly) | 물이 졸졸 흘러요. Water trickles along. |
| 반짝반짝 | banjjak-banjjak | Sparkling / twinkling | 별이 반짝반짝 빛나요. The stars twinkle. |
| 쿵쿵 | kung-kung | Thudding / stomping sound | 심장이 쿵쿵 뛰어요. My heart is thudding. |
| 살랑살랑 | salrang-salrang | Gently swaying / soft breeze | 바람이 살랑살랑 불어요. The breeze sways gently. |
| 꿀꺽 | kkul-kkeok | Gulp (swallowing sound) | 긴장해서 꿀꺽 삼켰어요. I gulped nervously. |
| 활짝 | hwaljjak | Widely / fully open (blooming) | 꽃이 활짝 피었어요. The flowers bloomed fully. |
| 뚝뚝 | ttuk-ttuk | Dripping / dropping sound | 눈물이 뚝뚝 떨어졌어요. Tears dripped down. |
| 빙글빙글 | binggeul-binggeul | Spinning round and round | 팽이가 빙글빙글 돌아요. The top spins round and round. |
| 아장아장 | ajang-ajang | Toddling (a baby walking) | 아기가 아장아장 걸어요. The baby toddles along. |
| 드문드문 | deumun-deumun | Here and there / sporadically | 나무가 드문드문 있어요. Trees are scattered here and there. |
| 울긋불긋 | ulgeut-bulgeut | Colorfully mixed (autumn leaves) | 단풍이 울긋불긋해요. The autumn leaves are colorfully mixed. |
| 엉엉 | eong-eong | wailing / sobbing loudly | 아기가 엉엉 울어요. The baby is wailing. |
| 킬킬 | kil-kil | giggling / snickering | 뒤에서 킬킬 웃어요. They're giggling in the back. |
| 쌩쌩 | ssaeng-ssaeng | whooshing / whizzing (wind, speed) | 바람이 쌩쌩 불어요. The wind is whooshing. |
| 데굴데굴 | degul-degul | rolling round and round | 공이 데굴데굴 굴러가요. The ball rolls along. |
| 번쩍번쩍 | beonjjeok-beonjjeok | flashing / gleaming brightly | 카메라 플래시가 번쩍번쩍해요. The camera flash is flickering. |
| 울퉁불퉁 | ulttung-bulttung | bumpy / uneven | 길이 울퉁불퉁해요. The road is bumpy. |
| 구불구불 | gubul-gubul | winding / twisting (road, river) | 강이 구불구불 흘러요. The river winds along. |
| 포슬포슬 | poseul-poseul | crumbly / fluffy (texture) | 감자가 포슬포슬해요. The potato is fluffy. |
| 콸콸 | kalkwal | gushing (water) | 물이 콸콸 흘러요. Water gushes out. |
| 부슬부슬 | buseulbuseul | drizzling (rain) | 비가 부슬부슬 내려요. Rain drizzles softly. |
| 우르릉 | ureureung | rumbling (thunder) | 천둥이 우르릉 울렸어요. Thunder rumbled. |
| 쾅 | kwang | bang/crash | 문이 쾅 닫혔어요. The door banged shut. |
| 탁 | tak | thud/click | 탁자를 탁 쳤어요. I hit the table with a thud. |
| 톡 | tok | tap/pop | 어깨를 톡 건드렸어요. I tapped the shoulder lightly. |
| 딩동 | dingdong | ding dong (doorbell) | 딩동 소리가 났어요. There was a ding dong sound. |
| 째깍째깍 | jjaegakjjaegak | tick tock | 시계가 째깍째깍 가요. The clock ticks away. |
| 코코코 | kokoko | cluck cluck (chicken) | 닭이 코코코 울었어요. The chicken clucked. |
| 음메 | eumme | moo (cow) | 소가 음메 울었어요. The cow mooed. |
| 으르렁 | eureureng | growl (animal) | 개가 으르렁댔어요. The dog growled. |
| 살금살금 | salgeumsalgeum | sneaking quietly | 살금살금 다가갔어요. I sneaked up quietly. |
| 슬금슬금 | seulgeumseulgeum | sneaking slowly | 슬금슬금 피했어요. I slowly sneaked away. |
| 울렁울렁 | ulleongulleong | nauseous/churning | 배가 울렁울렁해요. My stomach is churning. |
| 아슬아슬 | aseulaseul | nerve-racking/precarious | 아슬아슬하게 성공했어요. I succeeded in a nerve-racking way. |
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