# How does english native speaker imitate the sound like gun shot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 20, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521 "2012-05-20T15:53:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![winnerin2009](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d26b3c/32.png) [@winnerin2009](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/winnerin2009)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/1 "2012-05-20T15:53:31Z")
well, i’m not an english native speaker, so i’m just very interested with this onomatopoeia. i can tell you the equivalence form in chinese is a sound like “pieu”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Niply\_Elder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@The\_Niply\_Elder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Niply_Elder)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/2 "2012-05-20T15:58:23Z")
“kshh” is what it would be in english… “pieu” is the sound that laser cats make… ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/3 "2012-05-20T16:03:16Z")
The word in English is “bang” and very young kids might actually say that word when “shooting a gun.” Older kids would make a more realistic sound for which pieu is a pretty good rendition I’d say The “p” is a pretty hard exhalation of breath through initially closed lips. The rest of the sound is pretty much like the word “you”. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/4 "2012-05-20T16:24:27Z")
For a handgun, I think the word you’re looking for is “bang”, yes. If the gun in question is a rifle, people often say, “I heard the crack of a rifle” or “the crack of rifleshot”. In these examples, “crack” is the onomatopoeic word to describe the sound of the rifle firing. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/5 "2012-05-20T18:12:04Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Older kids would make a more realistic sound for which pieu is a pretty good rendition I’d say The “p” is a pretty hard exhalation of breath through initially closed lips. The rest of the sound is pretty much like the word “you”. The word “Pow!” is also common, and may indicate an approximation for this sound as well. A machine gun goes _ack-ack-ack-ack-ack_ (or at least it did when I was a kid). ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/6 "2012-05-20T18:29:03Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > A machine gun goes _ack-ack-ack-ack-ack_ (or at least it did when I was a kid). Ours went “rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat” or that sound my brothers could make but I never could master, best approximated in writing as “tchu-tchu-tchu-tchu-tchu” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/7 "2012-05-20T18:35:31Z")
Pieu makes me think of a very wimpy blaster pistol. Think star wars. I would use “pkow,” where the k is a cross between a “k” and “ch” sound. Sort of like the IPA “X” sound in “loch.” [Relevant clip](http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/104374/gunfight-at-the-peppermint-hippo). Starts at about 1:00. Bang bang vs. pchew. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/8 "2012-05-20T18:35:50Z")
Ping ping PING! It’s Ricochet Rabbit! ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/9 "2012-05-20T19:00:54Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > A machine gun goes _ack-ack-ack-ack-ack_ (or at least it did when I was a kid). > [@WhyNot](#): > > Ours went “rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat” or that sound my brothers could make but I never could master, best approximated in writing as “tchu-tchu-tchu-tchu-tchu” Sgt. Rock’s machine gun always went, _“budda-budda-budda”_ ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/10 "2012-05-20T19:16:21Z")
There’s also “kapow!” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/11 "2012-05-20T20:02:20Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Pieu makes me think of a very wimpy blaster pistol. Think star wars. Agreed. Star Wars blasters go “pyoo pyoo pyoo”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/12 "2012-05-20T20:22:51Z")
> [@winnerin2009](#): > > well, i’m not an english native speaker, so i’m just very interested with this onomatopoeia. i can tell you the equivalence form in chinese is a sound like “pieu”. Something like an silenced MAC-10 or Uzi would be “phrrrrrrr, phrrrrrrr”, you have to really vibrate your lips. A large calibre sniper rifle would be a kind of “booooooffff” noise. If you’re pretending to be shot you have to do it in slow motion - throw your arms back and make a face, and act out the bullet impacts (“doosh, doosh, doosh”). Two to the chest and one in the forehead, the old Mozambique drill. If you want to see this acted out [here’s a clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nvfQw8UCDE) of Steve Coogan from “The Day Today” - fast-forward to about 2:10. Notice how he acts out the bullet impacts, that’s important. A shotgun would be “cuh-chunk POW!”, or _a licky-boom-boom-down_, I learned that from Snow’s classic rap hit “Informer”. Grenade! Cover me! ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/13 "2012-05-20T21:08:09Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > A shotgun would be “cuh-chunk POW!”, or _a licky-boom-boom-down_, I learned that from Snow’s classic rap hit “Informer” According to Qadir, from “[Nicknames](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41v5DkE2vBw),” most popularly off of the _Grand Theft Auto IV_ soundtrack, a machine gun he calls Missy (Elliott?) goes “e-e-e-e-ow e-e-e-e-e-e-blaow.” ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/14 "2012-05-21T01:19:04Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > The word in English is “bang” and very young kids might actually say that word when “shooting a gun.” Older kids would make a more realistic sound for which pieu is a pretty good rendition I’d say The “p” is a pretty hard exhalation of breath through initially closed lips. The rest of the sound is pretty much like the word “you”. While pretty much any of these are _acceptable_, “bang” is the standard, imho. I’m a native English speaker from the US. “Pew”, “kssht”, and “pow” would also be fine. For a machine gun, one might repeat “rat-a-tat” or “dut-dut-dut”. “Boom” can be used for a bomb as well as artillery or other non-handheld guns such as cannons or mortars. ---
**Author:** ![glaeken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@glaeken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glaeken)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/15 "2012-05-21T15:26:54Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > Something like an silenced MAC-10 or Uzi would be “phrrrrrrr, phrrrrrrr”, you have to really vibrate your lips. A large calibre sniper rifle would be a kind of “booooooffff” noise. If you’re pretending to be shot you have to do it in slow motion - throw your arms back and make a face, and act out the bullet impacts (“doosh, doosh, doosh”). Two to the chest and one in the forehead, the old Mozambique drill. > > If you want to see this acted out [here’s a clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nvfQw8UCDE) of Steve Coogan from “The Day Today” - fast-forward to about 2:10. Notice how he acts out the bullet impacts, that’s important. > > A shotgun would be “cuh-chunk POW!”, or _a licky-boom-boom-down_, I learned that from Snow’s classic rap hit “Informer”. > > Grenade! Cover me! That reminds me of this. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7sqSQ5Vu8vM/maxresdefault.jpg "Unspoken Telepathy Gun Fight | Spaced") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sqSQ5Vu8vM) ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/16 "2012-05-21T18:09:54Z")
[BANG!](http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Ridge-Magic-Bang-with/dp/B0006GJXW4) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/17 "2012-05-21T19:42:25Z")
I think of “Pow!” as being more of a punch than a gunshot. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/18 "2012-05-21T21:12:39Z")
> [@glaeken](#): > > That reminds me of this. > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sqSQ5Vu8vM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sqSQ5Vu8vM) [Or guns _and_ a jetpack.](http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUkaHT2r4Wpk%26feature%3Dyoutube_gdata_player&feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=UkaHT2r4Wpk&gl=GB) ---
**Author:** ![\_cc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/e19b73/32.png) [@\_cc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_cc)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/19 "2012-05-25T14:14:09Z")
Probably depends on exactly which english-speaking area you come from. In Detroit, we have a couple dozen different ways to vocalize gunfire, depending on the type of gun, rate of fire, distance to the listener, and how sideways it’s being held… ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/20 "2012-05-25T14:23:04Z")
If you’re urban it’s “brap”, innit bruv. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521.md?page=2)