# 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:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rampant\_Coypu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/439d5e/32.png) [@Rampant\_Coypu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rampant_Coypu)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/21 "2012-05-27T04:11:04Z")
A handgun is “bang” for 9mm up, "pow’ for smaller. “Paw” or “boom” for shotguns. A high pitched “kich” or “psew” for high powered rifles. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/22 "2012-05-27T04:48:29Z")
Don’t forget Walter Mitty and his _pokket-a pokket-a pokket-a_. ---
**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 27, 2012, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/23 "2012-05-27T11:39:50Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Don’t forget Walter Mitty and his _pokket-a pokket-a pokket-a_. That was the flame thrower/anesthetizer/submarine engines. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/24 "2012-05-27T15:16:48Z")
I can’t believe I am the first to post this: [Bang Bang -My Baby Shot Me Down- Nancy Sinatra 1966 - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSHYlSxQyJM) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/25 "2012-05-27T15:32:26Z")
When I was a kid I used ‘dada-dada-dada’ for a machinegun, or else used my breath to ‘vibrate’ my tongue against my front teeth and roof of my mouth whilst making a tone. This produced something similar to the ‘dada-dada-dada’ sound, but ‘breathier’. I’d finish with an ‘-ow!’ I don’t remember how I imitated single gunshots. There was a much younger kid in the neighbourhood who imitated gunshots by saying ‘Pew!’ We thought he was weird. Nowadays, having fired many guns, I say ‘pop’, which imitates the ‘sharp’ sound of a gunshot. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/26 "2012-05-28T01:06:16Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > That was the flame thrower/anesthetizer/submarine engines. It’s been a long time since high school. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/27 "2012-05-28T20:37:12Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Sgt. Rock’s machine gun always went, _“budda-budda-budda”_ And German Schmeissers went “Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp!” And Japanese machine guns went “Takka! Takka!” American rifles went “Pow!” or “Crack!” German and Japanese rifles went “Krak!” (They had accents, I guess.) It was Tommy guns that went “Budda!” Big .50 cals. went “Rat-tat-tat!” And WWI machine guns went “Tok! Tok! Tok!” This was in DC war comics, but I don’t think Sgt. Fury comics (Marvel) were much different. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/28 "2012-05-29T00:39:01Z")
> [@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”. [This](http://www.zedge.net/ringtone/1386348/?pos=9&search=bullet+sound&cep=9)is the sort gun sound you’re thinking of, right? (click the white arrow to play) In English it’s often written as \*\*peow \*\*or **pyow**. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521/29 "2012-05-29T04:33:56Z")
The problem I have with pieu is that the eu sound is a small sound. If I heard that used in English, I would assume a small gun. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-english-native-speaker-imitate-the-sound-like-gun-shot/622521.md?page=1)