Dog Bark Sounds: How Different Countries & Languages Represent Dog Sounds in Words

Map created by WordtipsThe map above looks at what sound dogs make when they’re barking in most of the countries of the world. While Woof, Woof is the most common in the English speaking world it’s not the mot common globally.

Top 5 Most Common Dog Sounds:
- Hau, Hau / How How: 22 countries
- Guau, Guau: 19 countries
- Woof, Woof: 13 countries
- Oaf, Oaf: 8 countries
- Au, Au: 6 countries
Regional Words for Dog Sounds:
- North America, UK & Australia: “Woof, Woof”
- Spain & Latin America: “Guau, Guau”
- Brazil & Portugal: Au, Au
- Scandinavia: “Vov, Vov” or close variations
- Eastern Europe & Russia: Variations like “Gaf, Gaf,” “Hau-Hau,” and “Wuff”
- East Asia: “Wang Wang” (e.g., China)
- South Asia: “Bho, Bho” (e.g., India)

Here’s a breakdown by language from LanguagePro:

English – woof, woof; ruff, ruff; arf, arf (large dogs and also the sound of sea lions); yap, yap; yip, yip (small dogs), bow wow
Afrikaans – blaf, blaf; woef, woef; keff, keff (small dogs)
Albanian – ham, ham
Arabic – hau, hau; how how (هو ,هو)
Armenian -haf, haf
Basque – au, au; txau, txau (small dogs); zaunk, zaunk (large dogs); jau, jau (old dogs)
Balinese – kong, kong
Bengali – gheu, gheu; bhao, bhao
Bulgarian – bau-bau (бау-бау); jaff, jaff (джаф-джаф)
Brazilian Portuguese – au au
Burmese – woke, woke
Catalan – bau, bau; bub, bub
Chinese, Cantonese – wow, wow (汪汪)
Chinese, Mandarin – wang, wang
Croatian – vau, vau
Czech – haf, haf; štěk (the bark itself)
Danish – vov, vuf
Dutch – waf, waf; woef, woef
Esperanto – boj, boj
Estonian – auh, auh
Finnish – hau, hau; vuh, vuh; rauf, rauf
French – waouh, waouh; ouahn, ouahn; vaf, vaf; wouf, wouf; wouaf, wouaf; jappe jappe
German – wuff, wuff; wau, wau; rawrau, rawrau
Greek – ghav, ghav (γαβ, γαβ)
Hebrew – hav, hav; hau, hau
Hindi – bow, bow
Hungarian – vau, vau
Icelandic – voff, voff
Indonesian – guk, guk
Irish – amh, amh
Italian – bau, bau
Japanese – wan-wan (ワンワン); kyan-kyan (キャンキャン)
Korean – meong, meong (멍멍, pronounced [mʌŋmʌŋ])
Latvian – vau, vau
Lithuanian – au, au
Macedonian – av, av
Malay – gong, gong (“menggonggong” means barking)
Marathi – bhu, bhu; bho, bho
Norwegian – voff, voff or boff
Persian – vogh, vogh
Polish – hau, hau
Portuguese – au, au; ão-ão (nasal diphthong); béu-béu (toddler language); cain-cain (whining)
Romanian – ham, ham; hau, hau
Russian – gav, gav (гав-гав); tyav, tyav (тяв-тяв, small dogs)
Serbian – av, av
Sinhala – සිංහල – buh, buh
Slovak – haf, haf; hau, hau
Slovene – hov, hov
Spanish – guau-guau; gua, gua; jau, jau
Swedish – voff, voff; vov, vov; bjäbb, bjäbb
Tagalog – aw, aw; baw, baw
Tamil – wal wal
Thai – โฮ่ง โฮ่ง (pronounced [hôŋhôŋ]); บ๊อก บ๊อก (pronounced [bɔ́kbɔ́k])
Turkish – hev hev; hav, hav
Ukrainian – гав, гав (hau, hau); дзяв, дзяв (dzyau, dzyau)
Urdu – bow bow
Vietnamese – gâu gâu; ẳng ẳng
Welsh – wff, wff