Sounds and noises
(Les sons et les bruits)

1. Les sons émis par l'homme

To whistle is to blow air through your teeth and lips so as to make a musical tune.
A wolf-whistle is a special type of whistle which men make at attractive women or vice-versa.
You hum with your lips closed and make a sound with your throat. You can hum tunes.
A cough is the noise you make when you clear your throat. Smokers cough a lot.
You might make a crunch when you chew something hard.
If you sigh, you make a noise when you breathe out to show you are tired or unhappy.
A groan is a loud noise which you make when you get bad news.
To snore is to make a sound when you are asleep. You snore through your nose.
You sniff with your nose to clear it.
If you slurp a drink, you drink it noisily and fast.
A gulp is a noise made by a loud swallow.
You make a tut, if you disapprove of something.
If you go sshhh, you show that you want someone else to stop speaking.
A gasp is a sharp intake of air. You usually gasp when you are shocked by some sudden news.

2. Les bruits et les actions

Les mots suivants décrivent des actions accompagnées d'un bruit ou d'un son.

A bang is a general word for any short, loud noise.
A door-bell or the telephone will ring.
A click is the sound of a door closing quietly or of a computer mouse.
When you scratch, you use your nails to touch your skin.
There is a bang when a door closes very quickly.
A clock ticks.
If your clock makes a noise at every hour, this is a chime. Clocks chime the same number of times as the hour they are indicating.
If a book falls on the floor, it makes a thump.
An explosion is the action and the sound of a bomb going off.
A crash is the action and sound of two cars hitting each other.
When brakes are put on very hard, a car makes a screech.
When you open a newspaper, it makes a rustle.
A splash is the sound of something going into water.
A burning fire will crackle.

3. Les bruits d'animaux

As-tu des animaux domestiques ? Connais-tu les mots anglais désignant leur cri ?
Voici des mots exprimant des cris d'animaux :

4. La musique

The tone of a sound is its quality.
A note is a sound used in music. The notes go from A to G.
A bass sound is a deep musical sound, for example made from the bass guitar.
A treble sound is a high sound.
A high-pitched sound is very squeaky.
The beat of music is its stress or its louder notes.
The rhythm of the music is the way it moves and the general pattern it has. So there is a rock and roll rhythm or a salsa rhythm.