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喀 (kā) — (onomatopoeia) sound of coughing or clearing one's throat; (onomatopoeia) sound of vomiting or retching

Definition

Onomatopoeia imitating a short throat sound — a cough/hiccup-like 'kah' or a sudden retch. Almost always used in 喀了一声/发出喀喀的声音, written in comics and narration rather than spoken.

onomatopoeia
sound of coughing or clearing one's throatsound of vomiting or retching

Examples

  • ，喀，。
    Tā ké sou le jǐ shēng, rán hòu kā le yī shēng, jì xù shuō huà.
    He coughed a few times, then made a 'kā' sound, and continued speaking.
  • “喀喀”。
    Màn huà lǐ de rén wù nán shòu shí zǒng shì fā chū "kā kā" de shēng yīn.
    Characters in comics always make a 'kā kā' sound when they feel sick.
  • ，喀。
    Tā hē dé tài jí, tū rán kā yī shēng tǔ le chū lái.
    He drank too quickly and suddenly let out a 'kā' as he vomited.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
客
客kè喀kā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

喀 pairs 口 (mouth) with 客, which gives the sound. The mouth part shows it is a sound made by the mouth.

Appears in
Illness & Symptoms

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