What Is “Gari Gari”? The Japanese Sound of Crunching, Scratching, or Being Skin-and-Bones

12/17/202512/31/2025

Ever bitten into a frozen popsicle and heard that dry, sharp crunch?

Or scratched something rough with your nails?

Or seen someone so thin, you could practically count their ribs?

In Japanese, all of these sensations can be described by one expressive onomatopoeia:

Gari Gari (がりがり)

Before we dive in, let’s hear the sound!

Table of Contents

What is “Gari Gari” (がりがり)?

“Gari Gari” is a Japanese onomatopoeia that mimics a sharp, dry, repetitive scraping or crunching sound.
It can describe:

Crunching ice or hard snacks
Scratching something rough
Using a pencil on rough paper
The visual image of someone very skinny (like bones showing through skin)

It’s a sound-based and image-based word, often overlapping texture, action, and appearance.

Pronunciation

gah-ree gah-ree
(Emphasize the dry “ga” — it feels sharp and repetitive.)

What Does “Gari Gari” Look Like?

Someone biting into a block of ice
A dog scratching at a wooden door
A student erasing with too much pressure
A character in anime who’s extremely skinny, drawn with stick limbs

How Do You Say It?

Say it like a crunchy scraping motion:
Gari gari!

Examples in Daily Life

Example 1: Ice cream attack

He bit into the popsicle —
gari gari!
It echoed through his teeth!

Example 2: Skin-and-bones

After the long illness,
he looked so thin…
gari gari.

Cultural Note

In English, you might hear:

“Crunch crunch”
“Scritch scritch”
“Skin-and-bones”

But in Japanese, がりがり has a unique mix of sound + feel + visual, so it’s used in many ways:

Usage Type	Meaning
Crunching sound	Biting into hard things
Scratching sound	Nails or tools on rough surfaces
Appearance	Being extremely thin

It’s also popular in branding — like the “ガリガリ君” (がりがりくん / Gari Gari Kun) popsicle, a famous icy treat known for its signature gari gari crunch!

What Is “Gari Gari”? The Japanese Sound of Crunching, Scratching, or Being Skin-and-Bones