咳

hāi, ké

亥 + 口

HSK 3.0Level 4

Definitions

ké (verb) cough

hāi (interjection) oh; ah; (exclamation of surprise or regret)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 亥 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 亥

About

咳 is a phono-semantic compound composed of the mouth radical 口 and the sound component 亥. The radical 口 indicates that the character's meaning belongs to the domain of the mouth and throat, hence coughing, as well as other vocal and breath-related actions. The component 亥 supplies the pronunciation. Its central meaning is 'to cough'. In informal language, 咳 can also act as an interjection, voicing regret, realization, or exclamation, with the precise emotion depending on how it is pronounced.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他经常咳嗽。

Tā jīngcháng késou.

He often coughs.

医生让我止咳。

Yīshēng ràng wǒ zhǐ ké.

The doctor told me to stop coughing.

咳嗽时要戴口罩。

Késou shí yào dài kǒuzhào.

When coughing, wear a mask.

这孩子咳得很厉害。

Zhè háizi ké dé hěn lìhai.

This child coughs very badly.

因为感冒，他不停地咳嗽。

Yīnwèi gǎnmào, tā bù tíng de késou.

Because of a cold, he coughs incessantly.

如果咳得严重，就要去看医生。

Rúguǒ ké dé yánzhòng, jiù yào qù kàn yīshēng.

If the cough is severe, you should see a doctor.

这种药可以有效止咳。

Zhè zhǒng yào kěyǐ yǒuxiào zhǐ ké.

This medicine can effectively relieve cough.

他咳了一声，然后开始说话。

Tā ké le yī shēng, ránhòu kāishǐ shuōhuà.

He coughed once, then started speaking.

Related Characters

Component: 亥

Component: 口

咳