咳嗽 (ké sou) — to cough | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

咳嗽 is the everyday 'cough' verb, used for the action or the illness itself. Use it rather than 咳, which is a clipped shorthand more often seen in compounds or quick speech.

verb

to cough

Measure word · 阵

Examples

，咳嗽。
Tā gǎn mào le, wǎn shàng yì zhí zài ké sou.
He has a cold and has been coughing all evening.
，咳嗽。
Nǐ yào duō hē shuǐ, ké sou cái huì hǎo.
You need to drink more water; only then will your cough get better.
咳嗽，。
ké sou De shí hou, zuì hǎo dài shàng kǒu zhào.
When coughing, it's best to wear a mask.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

嗽sòucoughing

咳 and 嗽 both refer to coughing, so together they describe the action.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

口亥咳

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

亥

亥hài咳hāi

Same sound today

咳 combines 口, which points to the mouth or a sound made with it, and 亥, which gives the character its sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

口欶嗽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

欶

欶shuò嗽sòu

Same sound today

The left side 口 shows the mouth, and the right side 欶 points to the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 HSK 2.0 Level 4 Illness & Symptoms

Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.