How do you say "cough" in Japanese?

咳

seki

Noun Kanji

In Japanese, "cough" is 咳 (seki).

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Pronunciation

SEH-kee, two syllables, both short and clipped like the sound of an actual cough.

Writing and usage

咳 is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

乾いた咳で眠れなかった。

kawai ta seki de nemure nakatta.

A dry cough kept her awake.

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How to remember 咳

Seki is short and abrupt, almost sounding like the bark of a cough itself.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 咳

How do you pronounce 咳?

SEH-kee, two syllables, both short and clipped like the sound of an actual cough.

Is 咳 formal or casual?

咳 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 咳 written in Japanese?

咳 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as seki.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Cough" in other languages

Curated by Callan Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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