Onomatopoeia - words for rain that sound like rain

If you had just learnt that pluviophile was a word then here’s another one for you !

The word onomatopoeia describes words that sound like the thing they describe. The definition of onomatopoeia is the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it.

Rythmic Rain - by Paul McCann

Tip Tap goes the rain
Spitting on my window pane
Drip drip from the trees
Sodden earthy and soggy leaves
Splosh Splash puddle pools
Jumping on their way to schools

Interestingly, the variety of words describing rain sounds are some of the most common examples of onomatopoeia.

Describing the Rain

• pitter-patter

• drip-drop

• rat-a-tat

• splatter

• tapping

• pattering

• pitapat

• patter

• drizzling

• mizzling

• showering

Heavy Rain

• dinging

• drumming

• hammering

• ker-plunking

• pinging

• plunking

• smashing

• swooshing

• tapping

• thunking

• wizzing

• wooshing

• tinkling

• spraying

• sprinkling

• splattering

• hissing

• seething

• shredding

• sissing

• sizzling

• spitting

• sluicing

• ping

Gentle Rain

• burbling

• dripping

• chinking

• lilting

• murmuring

• plinking

• strumming

• swishing

• thrumming

• whisking

• whispering

It’s not unique to the english language either, most languages have examples of onomatopoeic words and I’m going to mention a few specific to the sound that rain makes.

In Japanese shito shito (しとしと) for steady rain,  zaa-zaa (ざーざー) for heavy rain and potsu potsu (ぽつぽつ) can describe when rain starts falling.

In Korean the sound of rain is ju-ruk and in French plic ploc. In chinese xī lì huālā (淅瀝哗啦) mimicks the sound of falling rain and rustling leaves. In hungarian its csipp csepp and in hebrew teef taf.

I wonder if there’s also a word that describes words that sound like the word used to describe that word … if you can figure that out you get a thunderous applause :)

Here are two onomatopoeia examples of the pitter pattering of rain on an umbrella and the rat-a-tat drumming of rain on the roof of a car.

- Pluviophile

Why not have a go at coming up with some onomatopoeia of your own? Listen to thunder and rain sounds and add your comments on YouTube describing the sounds you can hear using only onomatopoeia !

- Pluviophile