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, which makes them fun and surprisingly easy to remember. It’s a great way to expand your vocabulary and get to know Russian onomatopoeia (sound-based words).
Each set includes:
— the onomatopoeic sound,
— a sentence with the verb,
— and the related noun.
🎥 Watch the video above, then check out the examples:
- гав-гав (woof woof) → Соба́ка га́вкает/ла́ет. (The dog barks.) → лай соба́ки (dog’s barking)
- мяу (miaow) → Кот мяу́кает. (The cat miaows.) → мяу́канье кота́ (cat’s miaowing)
- иго-го (neigh) → Ло́шадь ржёт. (The horse neighs.) → ржа́ние ло́шади (horse’s neighing)
- му-ууу (moo) → Коро́ва мычи́т. (The cow moos.) → мыча́ние коро́вы (cow’s mooing)
- хрю-хрю (oink oink) → Свинья́ хрю́кает. (The pig oinks.) → хрю́канье свиньи́ (pig’s oinking)
💡 Note: ‘Га́вкать’ is a colloquial form of ‘ла́ять’. Children usually learn ‘га́вкать’ first because it’s easy to link it to the sound ‘гав-гав’. The noun ‘га́вканье’ also exists, but it’s informal and rarely used. In practice, it’s better to use ‘ла́ять’ and ‘лай’.
To be continued… More posts on Russian onomatopoeia coming soon.
💬 Can you think of any other animal sounds in Russian? Share them in the comments!
For more fun ways to learn Russian, check out my cartoon playlist.
Activity
Match the animals with their sounds by dragging the words onto the correct pictures. If you make a mistake, click the tape connecting the word and the picture to detach them. Click the tick in the bottom right corner to check your answers.
- If you are using a mobile device, tap the expand icon in the top right corner and the exercise will open in a new window.