Search from various English teachers...
Heidi
Is this a word, 'glub'?
The song goes like this: I have a pet. He is a fish. Glub, glub, glub...
'Glub' should be the sound made by fish. But I can't find it in the dictionary, even the e-dictionary. Why?
Thank you very much!Then how about 'roar' (for a lion) and 'tweet' (for a mouse)? They are the words in the dictionary..Sorry, tweet for a bird..
Nov 5, 2015 12:20 AM
Answers · 4
1
"glub " is a word, and it usually describes water-noises. It is an onomatopoeic word (the word sounds like what it describes) and not all onomatopoeic words are in the dictionary. Another point is that it is actually birds who say "tweet tweet". Mice and some other rodents say "squeak squeak" or "eek eek" , and if someone sees a mouse sometimes they also scream "eeek ! A mouse!" Cows say "moo", dogs say "woof" or "bow wow" cats say "meow or mew" ." roar " and "tweet" are also used as verbs , that is probably why they are included in dictionaries.
November 5, 2015
1
glub, glub is onomatopoeia - like 'woof woof' for a dog. Although technically, I am not sure you can hear a fish so I think glub glub is based more on assinging some imagined sound to the motion of the fish's mouth opening and closing. Roar for lion isn't really onomatopoeia - we use the word for other things, including the human voice if it is a loud, deep, angry sound. Birds tweet - we don't usually use it to describe a mouse - I think 'squeak' is more common.
November 5, 2015
You are correct it is the sound the fish makes so it is not considered a word.
November 5, 2015
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!
Heidi
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English
Learning Language
English
Articles You May Also Like

How to Ask for a Raise or Promotion in English
9 likes · 8 Comments

The Key to Learning a Language Faster
29 likes · 8 Comments

Why "General English" is Failing Your Career (An Engineer’s Perspective)
29 likes · 12 Comments
More articles
