A comparative study of Japanese and Korean onomatopoeia for the expression of sense of smell —Focusing on Onomatopoeia—

Olfaction is one of the most fundamental human senses; however, it is often regarded as difficult to verbalize because of its abstract and subjective nature. Despite their close connection to daily experience, emotion, and cultural perception, linguistic research on olfactory expressions remains relatively limited, particularly in contrastive studies. This study aimed to examine olfactory onomatopoeias in Japanese and Korean individuals from a comparative perspective, focusing on their semantic characteristics and patterns of meaning extension.<br/> Based on dictionary data, previous studies, and authentic examples from newspapers and corpora, this study analyzed how olfactory onomatopoeias are used to express smells and how their meanings extend beyond sensory perception. The analysis revealed that Japanese olfactory onomatopoeias are relatively limited in number and tend to focus on the intensity of olfactory stimulation rather than on qualitative distinctions, such as pleasant or unpleasant smells. In contrast, Korean has a richer inventory of olfactory onomatopoeia, particularly those describing unpleasant odors, and exhibit more diverse patterns of semantic extension.<br/> Furthermore, in both languages, olfactory onomatopoeia frequently extend from sensory meanings to expressions of human emotions, attitudes, personality traits, and evaluative judgments. While positive olfactory expressions tend to have positive figurative meanings, expressions associated with a strong or unpleasant smell are more likely to have negative connotations. However, a notable difference lies in the focus of semantic extension; Japanese primarily emphasizes the intensity of stimulation, whereas Korean highlights qualitative distinctions in smell. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of sensory language and have implications for contrastive linguistics and language education.