What Dogs and Cats Sound Like in Various Languages; According to Recent Study

What noise does a dog make, as if someone were to question you? We're prepared to wager that we already know your response, which is "woof!" In North America, that term is frequently used to describe dog barks and sounds, but if you travel to another region of the world, you're sure to hear something else.

That is what prompted the linguists at Word Tips to research how different dogs and cats sound in various languages. The way people describe an animal's sound may not vary from country to country, but the actual noises of the animal do!

Let's start with our canine friends and provide some background information. The experts at Word Suggestions outlined how they started their investigation by figuring out which language was most widely used in each of the 147 nations they examined.

In order to determine how the sounds dogs and cats make are pronounced in each language, scientists then looked at "reliable publications and dictionary entries," according to the website. And that's what you can read on the map infographic up top!

Luckily, Word Suggestions also provided a breakdown of the most often used sounds, saving us the trouble of doing the math. Did you know that the sound a dog can make can be interpreted in over 40 different ways? The most common is "hau hau" or "how how," which is usually heard in Arabic-speaking countries, with "guau guau" (which is from the Spanish language) coming in second. The English-speaking nation of "Woof woof" wins the bronze medal!

There is definitely a theme with the cats. The Word Tips specialists also observed that the majority of the countries under investigation use a word that begins with the letter "m" to describe cat sounds. Miau, or possibly Miauw, was discovered in 38 distinct nations!

It's good to know that "meow" is the second most common word for cat noises in English. Yet, this is the intriguing part! The word "muwaa," which is used in some African countries, comes in third. We're not sure what else to call that if it's not a fun fact.