miin, eager to escape the heat and, yes, the din.
• Ichinichijū emi ga jii jii jii, miin miin miin to naite imasu.
All day long the cicadas chirrup in the trees.
rin rin chirp of the suzumushi (bush cricket); ringing sound
The suzumushi is sometimes called the "bell-ring" insect, and rin rin can also refer to the ringing of a small bell. I first came across these insects on the top floor of a Japanese department store, where they were awaiting purchase and rehousing in small insect cages somewhere in a child's room. They make a pretty, high-pitched sound, bringing a welcome bit of the country to a stuffy urban apartment during the long, hot summer nights.
• Chiisana kago no naka de nihiki no suzumushi ga rin rin to naite imasu.
Two bush crickets are singing in the small cage.
Down on the Farm
In 1970, after we had been studying Japanese for about half a year, we went to stay with a family on their dairy farm in Hokkaido.
One of the first things we set out to learn in Japanese were the sounds that farm animals make. Because we all learn these words as children, I think we keep a special fondness for them, so it can come as a shock to discover that familiar, well-loved animal sounds are imitated so differently in a foreign language.
hin hin neigh
• Kyū sha kara hin hin to uma no nakigoe ga shimasu.
The neighing of horses is coming from the stable.
bū bū pig's grunt or snort; human griping about something; toot, blow a horn*
• Onaka o sukashita buta-tachi ga yakamashiku bū bū hana o narashite imashita.
The hungry pigs were snorting noisily.
mē mē goat's or sheep's bleat
You may be surprised to find that the Japanese have a word for a goat's bleat when the animals themselves are so rarely seen in Japan, but friends tell me that before the economic miracle began, many Japanese households kept goats for their milk.
• Nihon de wa yagi wa hijō ni sukunai node, mē mē to iu nakigoe wa metta ni kikarenai.
Goats are extremely rare in Japan, so you don't often hear their bleating.
mō mō moo
• Bokujō de kusa o tabete ita ushi wa yū gata ni naru to, mō mō nakinagara koya e kaerimashita.
The cows, who had been eating grass in the pasture, returned to their shed when evening fell.
gā gā duck's quack, goose's honk
• Ahiru ga gā gā nakinagara, ike o dete, pan o motte ita kodomo ni chikazukimashita.
The quacking ducks came out of the pond and headed for the children holding bread.
kokekokk ō cock-a-doodle-doo
• Ondori ga kokekokk ō to naita no o kiite, okiru jikan ni natta to wakatta.
When I heard the rooster crow, I knew it was time to get up.
piyo piyo cheep cheep
• Hiyoko ga piyo piyo to nakinagara, oyadori no ato o tsuite kita.
The cheeping chicks followed their mother.
In the Countryside
From long ago, wild animals in the thick forests and remote mountains of Japan provided a ready source of material for the fertile imaginations of the local people. They told tales of bewitching foxes, of deceiving badgers and snakes, and of giant baboons lurking deep in the forests. While the woods were magical for the storytellers, they also provided inspiration for the poets, who delighted in the beautiful song of a nightingale or felt sadness upon hearing the lonely hooting of an owl.
The hiker in Japan today will probably have to look hard to discover anything moving on land other than fellow hikers, but he may be lucky and come across a troupe of those favorite scamps of folk tales, the monkeys. Don't be surprised if the locals aren't as pleased by this as you are. Monkeys raid the orchards, steal crops from the fields, and even sometimes pull tiles off the roofs of the houses.
kon kon fox's yelp; snow falling for a long time; light knocking or coughing
• Yama de kitsune ga kon kon nakimashita.
The fox cried out in the mountains.
kyakkya monkey's shriek
• Michiko wa kyakkya to naku saru-tachi no koe o futatabi kiita toki, isoide mado o shimemashita.
Michiko shut the windows quickly when she heard the shrieking of the monkeys again.
kakk ō cuckoo's song
• Kakkō kakkō to naite ita kakkō ga, totsuzen shizuka ni narimashita.
The calling cuckoo suddenly became quiet.
hō hokekyo nightingale's song
• Uguisu no hō hokekyo hō hokekyo to iu kirei na nakigoe ga nankai mo hibikimashita.
The nightingale's beautiful call sounded repeatedly.
hō, hō hō owl's hooting
• Hō hō to iu fukurō no nakigoe ga kurayami ni hibikimashita.
The owl hooted in the darkness.
pii hyororo hawk's cry; sound of a flute
• Tonbi ga pii hyororo to nakinagara kawa no ue ni tonde kimashita.
The hawk let out a cry as it came flying over the river.
koro koro cricket's chirp; ring of a bell; giggling; rolling; plump*
• Kō rogi ga shi-gokai koro koro to nakimashita.
A cricket chirped four or five times in succession.
chinchirorin cricket's chirp
• Aki ni natte, furusato ni kaette matsumushi no chinchirorin to iu oto o kiku no o tanoshimi ni shite imasu.
I look forward to returning to my home in the country and hearing the chirp of the crickets when autumn comes.
kero kero frog's croaking
• Tanbo de kero kero naite iru kaeru no koe o kiku to, yahari furusato wa ii tokoro da to omoimasu.
When I hear the frogs croaking in the paddy fields, I think about what a nice place my hometown is after all.
chū
