Japanese symbol for “cough”
咳
せき
Romaji: seki
cough; coughing; tussis
In Japanese, cough is 咳, read せき (seki).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n cough; coughing; tussis
Written forms: 咳. Readings: せき、しわぶき.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “cough”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 咳嗽 | がいそう gaisou | cough; coughing |
| ゴホン | ゴホン gohon | cough; ahem |
| 咳払い | せきばらい sekibarai | clearing one's throat; cough |
| 謦咳 | けいがい keigai | cough; hawking |
| 咳く | しわぶく shiwabuku | to cough; to clear one's throat |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 咳払い | せきばらい sekibarai | clearing one's throat; cough |
| 咳き込む | せきこむ sekikomu | to cough violently; to have a coughing fit |
| 百日咳 | ひゃくにちぜき hyakunichizeki | whooping cough; pertussis |
| 咳嗽 | がいそう gaisou | cough; coughing |
| 鎮咳 | ちんがい chingai | cough suppression |
| 空咳 | からせき karaseki | dry cough; hacking cough |
See also: Chinese symbol for “cough”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.