English 11 Plus What is Onomatopoeia?

Onomatopoeia is when a word is written in the way it sounds. These type of words, like homophones, synonyms and antonyms, are commonly used in day to day conversation and often used by writers and poets to help engage readers through the sense of sound.

There are a number of benefits to knowing and using onomatopoeic words, the most important being that it will help you to communicate impact, background and effect in a way that is relatable – whether you are writing or speaking.

This really helps your audience build a picture of what is going on and is a very strong tool you can use when creating a scene for them to imagine.

It is important that you include onomatopoeia in your set of devices when writing, as it will demonstrate your ability to utilise different approaches when being descriptive. It also demonstrates your ability to engage with the different senses using different devices and give readers / listeners a rounded experience.

Although its a simple technique to use it helps to give an added richness to the information and a depth that will help readers and listeners creatively use their imagination.

One key thing to remember is that onomatopoeic words can be used as verbs, nouns and adjectives – they are a really versatile group of words as long as you don’t overuse them.

Onomatopoeia Examples

The examples below will show you how to use onomatopoeic words as verbs, adjectives and nouns, this should give you an idea of the impact of using onomatopoeic words.

Verbs

Onomatopoeia is used as a verb when someone or something is doing something:

Example 1

Original sentence : She looked out the window

Sentence with onomatopoeia : She gasped as she looked out the window

Example 2

Original sentence : He told me to get away from him.

Sentence with onomatopoeia : He hissed at me to get away from him.

Example 3

Original sentence : He was breathing air because he was tired.

Sentence with onomatopoeia : He panted because he was tired.

Adjectives

Onomatopoeia is used as an adjective to describe something:

1. I walked through the drizzling rain.
2. I ran to avoid the rumbling thunder.
3. I stayed still when standing around buzzing bees.

Nouns

Onomatopoeia is used as a noun to refer to the thing that is happening:

1. We heard a massive crash in the other room.
2. He jumped in the water with a splash.
3. The shops are filled with chatter at the beginning of the New Year!

As you can tell from the different examples onomatopoeia is used, just like synonyms, to quickly add rich depth and description about the scene, whilst also engaging your readers / listeners to help them better imagine through things that they understand and relate to.

Onomatopoeia Questions / Worksheets

Worksheet 1

Add onomatopoeic words and change the following sentences to make it make sense :

1. The burger was in the pan.
2. The gravel was under my feet.
3. A bird flew across the road.
4. The cat was hungry.
5. The snake went across the grass.
6. The dog went to the post man.
7. They raised their hands for the performer.
8. He fell in the water,
9. The clock hung in the quiet room.
10. He broke the door.

Worksheet 2

What onomatopoeic words do these things make:

1. A cow goes ?
2. A cat goes ?
3. A bird goes ?
4. A frog goes ?
5. A lightning strike goes ?
6. A bell goes ?
7. A bee goes ?
8. A water drop goes ?
9. A car goes ?
10. A lion goes ?

1. Moo
2. Meow
3. Squawk
4. Ribbit
5. Zap
6. Ding
7. Buzz
8. Drip
9. Vroom
10. Roar