もぐもぐ

Overhearing Japanese conversation every day, I notice a decent amount of onomatopoeia. Japanese equivalents for slurp, sizzle, and crunch are far more common than I am used to in everyday English conversation. Not to mention, the landscape for food-specific onomatopoeia is vast.

Every time I hear one, I do a double-take because some of them sound so implausible. Yet, they are nearly universally agreed on. Everyone I asked responded with the same word.

So I’ve compiled a food-and-drink onomatopoeia collection. The most fascinating part about discussing these with my friends is the very strong feelings about whether katakana or hiragana should be used. Why? How did these originate? Whether or not they were passed down from parents, they were codified through manga. Did I miss any? Probably.