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Anyone who has spent any length of time in Japan will tell you that onomatopoeia is not just common, but an integral part of the Japanese language. While English speakers might find sentences peppered with additional ‘sound effects’ somewhat inelegant, in Japanese onomatopoeic words are not only considered perfectly normal, but there are mimicking sounds for every possible occasion – including states of being where there is no sound to mimic – and most people know exactly how to write them.
We’d wager than few native Japanese have ever come across an instruction manual that uses mimicking words to explain potential problems with a washing machine, though…
It might not seem unusual for the troubleshooting section of your washer’s manual to refer to certain sounds the machine might make during operation, but can you imagine finding the sentence, “If you hear ‘shaaaaaa‘ or ‘kiiiiiin‘ sounds emanating from your Hitashi 580, you may need to replace the filter,” written in there?
Shared by Twitter user eto9 last weekend, this photo of a page from a washing machine manual lists every possible sound the washer might make, and offers up explanations for each of them. Listing "zuzuzu," "shaa," "uooon," "buuun," "kiiin" and "pokopoko," the manual explains what it is that the washer is doing at any one time.
Are your Japanese onomatopoeia skills up to the task of discerning what’s wrong with your washer? If you were standing with this manual in hand, listening to the machine’s various creaks, shrieks and groans, could you easily separate a "buuun" from a "pokopoko?" If there any words on this little list that you’d struggle to identify, maybe one of our fellow readers can help you out, so be sure to leave a comment below.
Source: Twitter
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6 Comments
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nath
Childish language.
Serrano
My washing machine goes poko-poko all the time.
Fox Cloud Lelean
My washing machine sounds like a passanger jet taking off. I wonder how you write that in Katakana. I don't see anything wrong with including onomatopoeia in instruction manuals, and certainly no reason for the aggressive comments. I've trained as a mechanic, and different sounds can mean different problems, but customers will only report a "strange sound" being heard, which slows the diagnostic process, especially when they can't pinpoint whether the sound comes from the front or the rear, or the left or right side. Having onomatopoeia in instruction manuals seems like a way to counteract that, if only a little.
MrBum
Ha! I did the English translation for this manual! I think I used words like "bubbling" and "high-pitched whirring" for these. The different sounds for the alarm like pippi vs. piiii made me shake my head too.
lostrune2
The manufacturer should just install a device that analyzes them for you and tells you what it is.
Fox Cloud Lelean
Self-diagnostic devices aren't cheap, and they're not always reliable either. And when I say that they're not cheap, what I mean is that even the low-end devices will drive up appliance prices by a minimum of 300%. For the best devices, you're looking at a fifteen-fold price increase, or thereabouts.