A duck waddles , stars twinkle , and nowadays e-mail messages zip around the world in the blink of an eye. But foreign students of Japanese learn early on that working giseigo and gitaigo into their vocabularies is a good way to improve their conversational skills. Onomatopoetic words play a key role in communicating in Japanese, and they show up everywhere. This word is used for things that move or roll with a deep noise. You can almost hear the rain splashing noisily on the street.
Stars glitter brightly.
This word has a sharp, shiny feel to it. It's also used for the glint in someone's eye. A person mutters to himself. Back to Main Index Edited by Japan Echo Inc. based on domestic Japanese news sources. Articles presented here are offered for reference purposes and do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese Government.