In this post, you’ll explore Russian animal sounds and learn the verbs and nouns that describe them. Many of these words come straight from the sounds themselves, making them easy and fun to learn. This is a great way to expand your Russian vocabulary and get familiar with Russian onomatopoeia.
Each set includes:
— the onomatopoeic sound (like ‘мяу’ — meow)
— a sentence with the verb (‘мяукать’ — to meow)
— and the related noun (‘мяуканье’ — meowing)
🎥 Watch the video above, then explore the examples below!
- гав-гав → Собака гавкает/лает. → лай собаки
- мяу → Кот мяукает. → мяуканье кота
- иго-го → Лошадь ржёт. → ржание лошади
- му-ууу → Корова мычит. → мычание коровы
- хрю-хрю → Свинья хрюкает. → хрюканье свиньи
💡 Note: ‘Гавкать’ is the colloquial form of the verb ‘лаять’. When learning animal sounds, children often pick up this word first, because it’s easier to associate ‘гавкать’ with a dog’s bark ‘гав-гав’. The noun ‘гавканье’ also exists, though it’s informal and seldom used. Conclusion: it’s better to use the verb ‘лаять’ and the noun ‘лай’.
To be continued… Stay tuned for more episodes on Russian onomatopoeia!
🐾 How do animals ‘speak’ in your language? Tell me in the comments below!
For more fun ways to learn Russian, check out my cartoon playlist.