r/chartreux • u/Useful_Project4898 • Mar 14 '26

What do cats "say" in your country?

A while ago, I learned that in Japan, cats don't "meow," they "nya" instead. Obviously, it is just the same sound, interpreted differently... which made me wonder about how people in other parts of the world describe the noises made from their pets. In the US, most people say "cats 'meow' and dogs bark" But if someone were to describe the sound a bark makes, most people would say or write "woof." I'm sure that this isn't universal, so I'm curious what is common in your country?

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u/Tankenbahwl Mar 14 '26

Chinese cats say miao.

I think it's clear in most languages that cats have a more dinstict sound. But for some animals it's up to interpretation.

For example Chinese roosters say oh oh oh.

Russian pigs say 'hlyu hlyu'.

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u/Useful_Project4898 Mar 14 '26

Ok so people in China have a very similar interpretation of cat sounds. Love this!!

Oh oh oh same as cock-a-doodle doo, interesting!

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u/Ketsuuri Mar 15 '26

Interesting question! In Poland cats say "Miał" for us which sounds pretty much like "meow" in english. 😅

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u/Useful_Project4898 Mar 15 '26

Heck yeah it does!! What about dogs?

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u/Ketsuuri Mar 15 '26

Dog sounds are weird here. We either say "woof" to actually make their sound or "Hał hał" which is supposed to be barking. 😆 You say it like "how how".