どん

ど

ん

Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

adverb taking the 'to' particle, adverb

bang; boom; thud; crash

onomatopoeic or mimetic word

Onomatopoeic adverb for a heavy, dull impact or explosion. Often used with と (どんと).

遠とおくでどんという音おとがした。
There was a bang in the distance.
太たい鼓こをどんと叩たたいた。
He struck the drum with a thud.

noun

noon gun; noontime signal gun

Historical term for a cannon fired at noon, used from early Meiji to Taishō periods. Also called 午砲.

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉がどんと〈動どう詞し〉something makes a heavy bang/thud when it does something (falls, closes, etc.)
大おおきな石いしが地じ面めんにどんと落おちた。
A big rock fell to the ground with a thud.
〈人ひと〉どんMr./Ms. (name) — Kyushu-dialect honorific suffix attached to a person's name
太た郎ろうどんは元げん気きか。
Is Taro doing well?
胸むねをどんと叩たたくto pat one's chest firmly as a gesture of confidence or reassurance
彼かれは胸むねをどんと叩たたいて「大だい丈じょう夫ぶだ」と言いった。
He confidently patted his chest and said, 'It'll be fine.'

Related words

ど sense 1
ど is a heavier, more explosive onomatopoeia for impact than どん, and both share an emphatic prefix use meaning 'very' or 'exactly'.
午ご砲ほう sense 2
午砲 is the formal historical term for the noon cannon signal, while どん is the colloquial nickname for the same gun, named after its bang sound.
さんN3sense 5
さん is the standard, nationwide honorific suffix for names, while どん is its casual Kyushu-dialect equivalent.
とん
とん is a light, soft tap, whereas どん describes a much heavier, thudding bang.

Politeness

殿どのhonorific 尊敬語sense 5
殿 is a more formal, old-fashioned honorific suffix, while どん is the familiar Kyushu-dialect suffix used the way さん is elsewhere.

Don't confuse with

どんどんN4
どん describes a single, one-time bang or thud, while どんどん describes the same sound repeated continuously.

Written forms

どんUsage8%
Standard hiragana spelling for the onomatopoeic and noun uses.
ドンUsage92%
Katakana spelling, common in manga and emphatic contexts.

Etymology

Onomatopoeic origin for the sound sense. The noon gun sense derives from the sound of the cannon. The prefix sense is likely an extension of the emphatic use of ど. The suffix sense is a dialectal variant of 殿 (どの) or さん.