In German, der Klang (the sound) and das Geräusch (the noise) are the words for individual sounds, while words such as der Krach or der Lärm describe general noise that people are bothered by.  

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Let's look at the words for certain types of sounds and noises in German. Because there are many words, today we'll only look at sounds that occur in nature, including animal sounds. Next week, we'll look at sounds produced by humans and machines. There is, of course, some overlap. 

For example, humans and bees can both hum, and humans whistle too, of course. 

Das Geräusch erinnert an das Summen einer Biene.

The sound is reminiscent of the buzz of a bee.

Caption 26, Deutsch mit Eylin: s, ß und ss

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Pfeifen, Zwitschern, Tirilieren

Whistling, chirping, trilling

Caption 4, Kinderlieder zum Mitsingen: Alle Vögel sind schon da

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Here are some examples with the common verbs quietschen, piepen, rascheln, and rauschen.

Während die einen mutig ihr Spielzeug aus dem Wasser retten, hoffen die anderen, dass die Bälle und Quietscheknochen durch ihr Bellen auf magische Art und Weise an den Rand zurückkommen.

While some bravely rescue their toys from the water, the others hope that the balls and squeaky bones will, through their barking, magically come back to the edge.

Captions 3-5, Rheinmain im Blick: Hundeschwimmen

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Mäuse kenne ich. Sie wohnen in Erdlöchern und piepen.

Mice I know. They live in burrows and squeak.

Caption 11, Piggeldy und Frederick: Katze

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Es raschelte manchmal außerhalb des Zeltes,und der Wind rauschte laut in den Bäumen. 

Sometimes there was a rustle outside the tent, and the wind rustled loudly in the trees. 

Captions 20-21, Deutsch mit Eylin: Urlaub im Präteritum

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You may have noticed that the nouns that refer to these sounds are mostly nominalized verbs. These are then neuter. Once you know the noun, it's not at all difficult to remember the related verb and adjective/adverb. 

Rauschend und gurgelnd vereinigen sich viele kleine Rinnsale zu immer größeren Bächen.

Rushing and gurgling, many small brooks combine into increasingly larger streams.

Caption 7, Alpenseen Kühle: Schönheiten

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Die Mutter bat den Bären hinein und der legte sich vor das knisternde Feuer.

The mother asked the bear in and he lay down in front of the crackling fire.

Caption 17, Märchen: Sagenhaft Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot

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Further Learning
You can find more examples of these words on Yabla German, and also look up a few more, such as das Zirpen, das Plätschern, das Brutzeln, or das Knarren.