咳

ké

HSK 3.0 Level 4 Verb Uncommon

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hāi sound of sighing; (interjection expressing surprise, sorrow, regret, disappointment etc) oh

Definitions

1. cough

Character focus

Stroke order

9 strokes

Word relationships

Related words

3 items

to sneeze

Sneezing, often paired with coughing in illness contexts.

can't stand

Common cold, frequently associated with coughing.

to suppress coughing

To stop a cough, used in medical contexts.

Synonyms

1 item

to cough

Both mean 'to cough', but 咳 is often used in compounds or more literary contexts.

Usage notes

Collocations

Often used in compounds like 咳嗽 (cough) or 止咳 (relieve a cough); rarely used alone in spoken Chinese.

Example Sentences

2 shown

他感冒了，一直咳。

He caught a cold and keeps coughing.

我咳嗽。

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 826092)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 咳

to cough

to suppress coughing

\Beijing cough\, respiratory problems caused by dry and polluted Beijing air, typically experienced by non-acclimated foreigners who would otherwise have no such problems

(dialect) to cough

to cough up phlegm

zhǐ ké táng jiāng

cough suppressant syrup

whooping cough

cough suppressant