咳嗽

késou

verb HSK 7-9 #7,744

Meanings

1 to cough
2 cough

Characters

to cough (only used in 咳嗽)

Both characters have the mouth radical 口. The second character 嗽 is only ever used in this word.

Examples

他咳嗽了一个星期了。

Tā késou le yíge xīngqī le.

He's been coughing for a week.

你咳嗽得这么厉害，去看医生吧。

Nǐ késou de zhème lìhai, qù kàn yīshēng ba.

You're coughing so badly, go see a doctor.

Tips

mistakes

嗽 is neutral tone in 咳嗽 (késou, not késòu). Also, many learners mix up the characters — 咳 can also be pronounced hāi as an interjection, but in 咳嗽 it's always ké.

Stroke Order

咳 ké

嗽 sòu