From mooing cows to clattering trains, Finnish sound words are oddly satisfying.
Alex C-J•
Onomatopoeia, the linguistic imitation of sounds, varies wildly between languages - Finnish has its own distinct set that captures everything from barnyard animals to mechanical noises with remarkable precision, often differing from their English counterparts in ways that reflect the phonology and auditory perception of Finnish speakers.
Animal Sounds in Finnish
Ammuu
/ˈɑmːuː/
“Moo”
The sound a cow makes, though Finnish cows articulate it with a heavier, more prolonged first syllable than the English equivalent.
Kvaak
/ˈkʋɑːk/
“Ribbit”
A frog’s croak, rendered with a sharper initial consonant cluster than the softer English version.
Hau hau
/ˈhɑu̯ˌhɑu̯/
“Woof woof”
A dog’s bark, where the Finnish preference for open vowels replaces the English rounded consonants.
Kiekua
/ˈkie̯kuɑˣ/
“Cluck”
The sound of a chicken, with a diphthong that stretches the word into two syllables.
Hihhii
/ˈhihːiː/
“Neigh”
A horse’s whinny, where the repetition of the syllable mirrors the rhythmic cadence of hooves.
Everyday Noises
Räks
/ræks/
“Creak”
The sharp sound of wood or metal straining, often heard in old floorboards or unoiled hinges.
Kops
/kops/
“Knock”
A quick, singular knock, typically produced by a hard object striking a surface once.
Pläts
/plæts/
“Splash”
A small, light splash, such as a raindrop hitting a puddle or a pebble tossed into water.
Mechanical and Urban Sounds
Rätinä
/ˈrætinæ/
“Rattle”
The rapid, repetitive noise of loose parts shaking, as in an old engine or a poorly secured window.
Jysäys
/ˈjysæys/
“Thud”
A heavy, dull impact, like a sack of grain hitting the ground or a door slamming shut.
Surina
/ˈsurinɑ/
“Hum”
A continuous, low-frequency sound, such as that produced by an idling motor or distant traffic.
Kolina
/ˈkolinɑ/
“Clatter”
The chaotic noise of multiple hard objects colliding, like dishes being stacked or tools dropped.
Finnish onomatopoeia often prioritise phonetic clarity over direct mimicry, reflecting the language’s preference for crisp consonants and unambiguous vowels - compare the Finnish ‘räks’ to the English ‘creak’, where the latter’s diphthong softens the perceived sharpness of the sound.
Why Finnish Sound Words Matter
Beyond their utility in children’s books or comic strips, these words reveal how Finnish phonotactics shape auditory perception - the absence of voiced consonants like /g/ or /z/ in native vocabulary, for instance, explains why even mechanical noises are rendered with unvoiced stops and fricatives, creating an acoustic landscape that feels distinctly Finnish, a phenomenon further explored in our article on the impact of Finnish on other languages.
