mäh

Mäh is the German onomatopoeic representation of the bleating sound made by sheep. As an imitation rather than a standard word with a concrete meaning, it is commonly used in literature, comics, and children's books to convey the sound of a sheep.

Pronunciation is typically rendered as roughly [mɛː], with a lengthened vowel corresponding to the umlauted ä. Since onomatopoeic spellings reflect sound rather than strict pronunciation rules, variations such as “mää” or “mäh” can appear in regional texts or informal writing.

In German-language usage, Mäh is not related to the verb mähen, which means to mow. It stands apart as an example of sound symbolism used to evoke animal vocalizations. The form may vary by dialect and context, with different communities sometimes rendering the bleat in slightly different ways, but the general idea remains the same: a sheep’s bleat represented in written form.

Culturally, such onomatopoeic words help readers imagine scenes involving animals without needing explicit description. They are commonly found in children’s literature, cartoons, and educational materials. In translations, the English equivalent of a sheep’s bleat is typically “baa,” though direct vocal imitation can differ across languages.

See also: Onomatopoeia, Bleating, Sheep.