咳 (ké) — to cough
Definition
咳 (kē) is the verb 'to cough' — the short, single-cough form. Use 咳嗽 for the full noun/verb 'cough / to cough' as a sustained action or the illness.
verb
to cough
Examples
- ，咳。Tā gǎn mào le, yì zhí zài ké.He has a cold and has been coughing.
- 咳，。Nǐ ké dé hěn lì hài, qù xiū xi ba.You cough a lot, go rest.
- 咳，。Tā ké le yī shēng, rán hòu kāi shǐ shuō huà.He coughed once, then started speaking.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
咳 combines 口, which points to the mouth or a sound made with it, and 亥, which gives the character its sound.
Appears in
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