How dogs bark in different languages - Dog sounds are different in every language due to a phenomenon known as onomatopoeia, or a word that phonetically imitates a certain sound. Dogs may not actually speak different languages, but the way humans interpret their "language" differs across the globe.
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Afrikaans - In Afrikaans, dogs say blaf-blaf, woef-woef, and keff-keff (small dogs).
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Albanian - In Albanian, a dog says ham-ham.
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Arabic - In Arabic, a dog says hau-hau or how-how.
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Bulgarian - In Bulgarian, a dog says bau-bau or jaff-jaff.
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Catalan - In Catalan, a dog says bau-bau or bub-bub.
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Chinese-Cantonese - In Chinese-Cantonese, a dog says wo-wo, wow-wow, or wong-wong.
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Chinese-Mandarin - In Chinese-Mandarin, a dog says wang-wang (汪汪).
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Danish - In Danish, a dog says vov-vov.
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Dutch - In Dutch, a dog says woef-woef.
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English - In English, a dog says woof-woof, ruff-ruff, arf-arf, bow-wow, yap-yap (small dogs), or yip-yip (very small dogs).
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Finnish - In Finnish, a dog says vuh or hau hau.
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French - In French, a dog says ouaf-ouaf.
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German - In German, a dog says wuff-wuff or wau-wau.
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Greek - In Greek, a dog says gav-gav.
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Hebrew - In Hebrew, a dog says hav-hav.
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Hindi - In Hindi, a dog says bow-bow.
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Icelandic - In Icelandic, a dog says voff-voff.
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Italian - In Italian, a dog says bau-bau.
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Japanese - In Japanese, a dog says wan-wan (ワンワン) or kian-kian (キャンキャン).
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Korean - In Korean, a dog says meong-meong (멍멍).
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Latvian - In Latvian, a dog says vau-vau.
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Efik (Nigeria) - In the Calabar area of Nigeria, a dog says wai-wai.
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Polish - In Polish, a dog says hau-hau.
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Portuguese - In Portuguese, a dog says au-au.
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Russian - In Russian, a dog says gav-gav (гав-гав) or tyav-tyav (тяв-тяв, small dogs).
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Spanish - In Spanish, a dog says guau-guau.
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Swedish - In Swedish, a dog says vov-vov or voff.
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Tagalog - In Tagalog, a dog says ow-ow or baw-baw.
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Thai - In Thai, a dog says hong-hong.
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Turkish - In Turkish, a dog says hev-hev or hauv-hauv.
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Ukrainian - In Ukrainian, a dog says hau-hau, haf-haf, or dzyau-dzyau.
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Urdu - In Urdu, a dog says bow-bow.
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Vietnamese - In Vietnamese, a dog says gau-gau, wau-wau, or ang-ang.
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Welsh - In Welsh, a dog says wff-wff.
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How dogs bark in different languages - Dog sounds are different in every language due to a phenomenon known as onomatopoeia, or a word that phonetically imitates a certain sound. Dogs may not actually speak different languages, but the way humans interpret their "language" differs across the globe.
© iStock
0 / 35 Fotos
Afrikaans - In Afrikaans, dogs say blaf-blaf, woef-woef, and keff-keff (small dogs).
© iStock
1 / 35 Fotos
Albanian - In Albanian, a dog says ham-ham.
© Shutterstock
2 / 35 Fotos
Arabic - In Arabic, a dog says hau-hau or how-how.
© iStock
3 / 35 Fotos
Bulgarian - In Bulgarian, a dog says bau-bau or jaff-jaff.
© iStock
4 / 35 Fotos
Catalan - In Catalan, a dog says bau-bau or bub-bub.
© iStock
5 / 35 Fotos
Chinese-Cantonese - In Chinese-Cantonese, a dog says wo-wo, wow-wow, or wong-wong.
© iStock
6 / 35 Fotos
Chinese-Mandarin - In Chinese-Mandarin, a dog says wang-wang (汪汪).
© iStock
7 / 35 Fotos
Danish - In Danish, a dog says vov-vov.
© Shutterstock
8 / 35 Fotos
Dutch - In Dutch, a dog says woef-woef.
© iStock
9 / 35 Fotos
English - In English, a dog says woof-woof, ruff-ruff, arf-arf, bow-wow, yap-yap (small dogs), or yip-yip (very small dogs).
© iStock
10 / 35 Fotos
Finnish - In Finnish, a dog says vuh or hau hau.
© iStock
11 / 35 Fotos
French - In French, a dog says ouaf-ouaf.
© iStock
12 / 35 Fotos
German - In German, a dog says wuff-wuff or wau-wau.
© iStock
13 / 35 Fotos
Greek - In Greek, a dog says gav-gav.
© iStock
14 / 35 Fotos
Hebrew - In Hebrew, a dog says hav-hav.
© iStock
15 / 35 Fotos
Hindi - In Hindi, a dog says bow-bow.
© Shutterstock
16 / 35 Fotos
Icelandic - In Icelandic, a dog says voff-voff.
© Shutterstock
17 / 35 Fotos
Italian - In Italian, a dog says bau-bau.
© iStock
18 / 35 Fotos
Japanese - In Japanese, a dog says wan-wan (ワンワン) or kian-kian (キャンキャン).
© iStock
19 / 35 Fotos
Korean - In Korean, a dog says meong-meong (멍멍).
© iStock
20 / 35 Fotos
Latvian - In Latvian, a dog says vau-vau.
© iStock
21 / 35 Fotos
Efik (Nigeria) - In the Calabar area of Nigeria, a dog says wai-wai.
© iStock
22 / 35 Fotos
Polish - In Polish, a dog says hau-hau.
© Shutterstock
23 / 35 Fotos
Portuguese - In Portuguese, a dog says au-au.
© Shutterstock
24 / 35 Fotos
Russian - In Russian, a dog says gav-gav (гав-гав) or tyav-tyav (тяв-тяв, small dogs).
© Shutterstock
25 / 35 Fotos
Spanish - In Spanish, a dog says guau-guau.
© Shutterstock
26 / 35 Fotos
Swedish - In Swedish, a dog says vov-vov or voff.
© Shutterstock
27 / 35 Fotos
Tagalog - In Tagalog, a dog says ow-ow or baw-baw.
© Shutterstock
28 / 35 Fotos
Thai - In Thai, a dog says hong-hong.
© Shutterstock
29 / 35 Fotos
Turkish - In Turkish, a dog says hev-hev or hauv-hauv.
© Shutterstock
30 / 35 Fotos
Ukrainian - In Ukrainian, a dog says hau-hau, haf-haf, or dzyau-dzyau.
© Shutterstock
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Urdu - In Urdu, a dog says bow-bow.
© Shutterstock
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Vietnamese - In Vietnamese, a dog says gau-gau, wau-wau, or ang-ang.
© Shutterstock
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Welsh - In Welsh, a dog says wff-wff.
© Shutterstock
34 / 35 Fotos
How dogs bark in different languages
"Woof" is not universal!
© iStock
Studies have shown that a dog's bark is more or less universal, meaning that canines can understand each other no matter where they come from. However, the way humans interpret the sound made by a dog often differs by country, culture, and language.
Browse the gallery and discover how various languages from around the world imitate a dog's bark.
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