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Loading...What Does a Cat Say In Japanese? In French? In Greek?
- Cherise Udell
- July 28, 2012
- 1:36 pm
- 90 comments
If you are a native English speaker, then you presumably believe that all kittens say “mew” and all cats say “meow,” but you would be mistaken. Cats in Korea say “yaong.” In Turkey they say “miyauv,” while in Japan they say “nyan.”
Of course, domesticated cats have their own language in which they communicate with each other and with us, their human caretakers, and this seems to vary little across continents. It is our interpretation of the cat’s meow however that changes from country to country.
While circumnavigating the globe when I was in my early twenties, I started recording the different ways humans interpreted common animal sounds. For example, I would ask fellow travelers, “In your native language, what does a dog say? A pig? A cat?” While common themes emerged, sometimes, the answer would seem to come from left field and send us native English speakers into peels of laughter. French children, for example, are taught, that a pig says “groin, groin” rather than “oink, oink.” I did notice however that depending on the intimacy a culture had with a particular animal, the closer the human interpretation was to the real animal sound.
Being a bonafide cat lover, I was particularly interested in how the basic cat vocalization — “meow” in English — was interpreted cross-culturally. This is what I learned (in no particular order):
- Catalan: Meu
- Chinese: Mao
- Danish: Miaav
- Dutch: Miauw
- Finnish: Miau or Kurnau
- French: Miaou
- Greek: Naiou
- Hebrew: Miau or Miya
- Hungarian: Miaaau
- Japanese: Nyan
- Korean: Yaong or Nyaong
- Norwegian: Mjau
- Portuguese: Miau
- Spanish: Miau
As you can see from this list, the cat’s basic “meow” is widely interpreted by different languages, but do share a recognizable sound pattern that probably makes sense to you regardless of your ability to speak these 14 different languages. The spelling/sound differences may be more from the limitations/parameters that each language has rather than a real difference in translating cat sounds. I am sure a trained linguist would have much to say on this subject, but alas, I am merely an cultural anthropologist. If you are a linguist, please add your two cents! Also, if you are a native speaker of a language not listed above, please add to this list. (Any Armenian, Urdu or Hmong speakers out there??)
So, rest assured that if you and your cat move from one country to another, both of you will at least speak one language — that of cat!
Related:
What Cats Signal With Their Tails
Reading Your Cat’s Body Language
Proof That Cats Talk (Video)
10 Fantastic Cat Facts
Read more: Behavior & Communication, Cats, Feline Muse, Pets, cat chat, cat communication, cat speak, cat talk, cat vocalization, Cherise Udell, feline communication, Feline Muse, talking cat, what does a cat say in other languages?
Cherise Udell
Cherise Udell is a mom, clean air advocate, anthropologist and feline aficionado with the nomadic habit of taking spontaneous sojourns to unusual destinations. Before her adventures in motherhood, she was an intrepid Amazon jungle guide equipped with a pair of sturdy wellingtons and a 24-inch machete, as well as a volunteer at a rainforest animal rescue center.
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90 comments
+ add your ownMiau in Germany - although my cats also say things like mrrrrip, brrrip, mau, maaaaauuuuu, wä...
I wonder if animals have accents and dialects
thanks
I wonder if animals have accents...
Miau is in Romanian too
What a cute perspective! I guess it all depends on human language., It is interesting tjat the Japanese word is so different than the others.
Interesting, thank you. I think "cat" (written in whatever language) is universal.
Dorothy K. Very funny.......I've known people who pronounce things/words the way they think it's spoken. Knew a woman who often said molder for molar!!!!!!!!
It takes all kinds. S.M.I.L.E.
Wherever you go there once was a forest.
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Trees are the lungs of the earth.
A cat sounds the same no matter what country it's in. It's the language of the people in whatever country that pronounce the sound differently.A cat only speaks "cat"! Why should we care what it sounds like to people in other countries? All that matters is that we "understand" what our cat is saying to us!!
I almost came to blows with my Greek mother-in-law when my kids were babies. According to her a frog goes quax and a duck goes pa pa pa. I mean REALLY!!!!
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