It’s crazy how many different ways you can transcribe the same sound! The fact that animal sounds are often represented by strikingly different words in different languages illustrates this perfectly.
I’m ready to bet French ducks say more or less the same thing as American or Australian ducks, but in French you refer to this sound as coin coin instead of “quack quack”. It’s not only interesting to see these differences, knowing them can also come in handy from time to time – such as while reading a French comic book (highly recommended!) or a novel set on a farm (no kidding).
Frenchanted’s list also gives you the French equivalent of the given animal, so it’s going to prove useful even if you’re not in the middle of the French version of Animal Farm.
These words are called onomatopoeias, or onomatopées in French. Behind the “can’t pronounce this on the first try” look resides a simple concept: these are words that mimic sounds, meaning that their written form reflects the sound itself.
Jump to
- Bird sounds in French
- Cat sounds
- Dog sounds
- Horse sounds
- Donkey
- Cow/ bull
- Sheep
- Goat
- Boar, pig
- Frog
- Snake
- Insects
- Mouse
- Lion
- Wolf
Bird sounds in French
Rooster sound in French
rooster = le coq
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| cocorico | cri du coq | the crow of a rooster |
Hen sound in French
hen = la poule
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| cot cot | cri de la poule | the sound of a hen |
Duck sound in French
duck = le canard
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| coin coin | cri du canard | the sound of a duck |
Goose sound in French
goose = l’oie (f)
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| coucou | cri du coucou | the sound of a cuckoo |
Owl sound in French
owl = le hibou OR la chouette (check out our article on the difference between the two – hint: they do not denote the hen and the male!)
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| hou hou | hululement d’une chouette, d’un hibou | hooting/ the sound of an owl |
Crow sound in French
crow = le courbeau
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| croâ | cri du corbeau | caw of a crow |
Cuckoo sound in French
cuckoo = le coucou
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| ca car | cri de l’oie | honking/ the sound of a goose |
Small bird sounds in French
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| couic | cri d’un petit animal | chirping/tweeting (or: the squeaking of a mouse) |
| cui cui | pépiement de l’oiseau | chirping, tweeting of a young bird |
| piou piou | cri du poussin | sound of a chick/ peep |
Cat sounds, dog sounds in French
Cat sounds in French
cat = le chat
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| miaou | miaulement du chat | miaowing, the sound made by a cat |
| ron ron | ronronnement du chat | purring sound made by a cat |
Dog sounds in French
dog = le chien
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| waf/ wouaf/ wouf / ouaf | aboiement du chien | the sound of a dog barking |
| kaï kaï | glapissement du chien | the sound of a dog yelping |
| ahou/ ahouahou | hurlement du chien | the sound of a dog howling |
Horse, donkey, sheep, cow, pig sounds in French
Horse sounds in French
horse = le cheval
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| hiii | hennissement du cheval | neigh, whinny/ the sound of a horse neighing |
| cataclop cataclop/ tagada tagada | bruit de sabots | the sound of hooves |
Donkey sound in French
donkey = l’âne (m)
male donkey: l’âne (m) – female donkey: l’ânesse (f)
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| hi han | braiement de l’âne | braying, the sound a donkey makes |
Cow/ bull sound in French
cow = la vache
bull = le taureau
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| meuh/ mhh/ muu | mugissement de la vache/ du taureau | mooing/ the bellowing sound made by a cow or a bull |
Sheep and goat sounds in French
Note: Although we’d argue that sheep and goats make different sounds, the French language doesn’t discriminate between them. The onomatopoeias used to desccribe sheep and goat sounds are the same. Keep scrolling to take a look at the table.
sheep = le mouton
male sheep: le bélier or le mouton
female sheep: la brebis
Goat sound in French
goat = la chèvre
male goat/ billy goat: le bouc
female goat: la chèvre
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| bê, bé, bè, beeee/ mê | bêlement du mouton ou de la chèvre | bleating, sound of a sheep/ goat |
Boar sound, pig sound in French
boar = le sanglier
pig = le cochon
male pig: le cochon
a female pig/ sow: la cochonne, la truie
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| groin groin | grognement du cochon/ sanglier | the sound a pig/ boar makes |
Frog sound in French
frog = la grenouille
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| coa | cri de la grenouille | croak/ the sound the frog makes |
Snake sound in French
snake = le serpent
- Kss/ Ssssss = sifflement du serpent = the hissing sound of a snake
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| kss/ sssss | sifflement du serpent | hissing/ the sound a snake makes |
Insect sounds in French
Cicada
cicada = la cigale
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| Crii crii crii | cri de la cigale | the sound a cicada makes |
Bee, mosquito, fly: buzzing sound in French
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| zzz | bourdonnement d’abeille, de moustique, de mouche… | the buzzing of a bee/ a mosquito/ a fly |
Other animal sounds in French
Mouse sound in French
mouse = la souris
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| couic | cri d’un petit animal, par ex. une souris | squeak of a small animal, i.e. squeak of a mouse (or a little bird) |
Lion sounds in French
lion = le lion
lioness = la lionne
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| grr/ roah/ roaaar/ raaah! | rugissement | roar of a lion/ other big cat |
Wolf sound in French
wolf = le loup
male wolf = le loup
the she-wolf = la louve
| Onomatopoeia | French description of sound | English description |
|---|---|---|
| ouuuh, aouuuh | hurlement du loup | howling, the sound a wolf makes |
And if you’d like to go further, check out this huge database of animal sounds in French.