咳嗽
ké sou · HSK 7
to cough
😷 咳嗽 = mouth 口 + mouth 口; both characters carry the 口 radical, since a cough comes out the mouth
Both 咳 and 嗽 start with the 口 (mouth) radical, marking them as mouth-sounds. The pair ké sou is a reduplicated noise word for the act of coughing, much like the English hack-hack.
咳 — mouth 口 + child 亥
A phono-semantic compound: 口 (mouth) gives the meaning, since coughing comes from the mouth, while 亥 supplies the sound. Originally the character could mean a child's laugh (read hāi), but its dominant modern sense is 'to cough' (ké).
ké sou · HSK 4
to cough
😷 咳 = cough + 嗽 = throat-rinse; together = to cough
咳 (ké) is the mouth radical 口 plus 亥, used for coughing sounds. 嗽 (sou) also has 口 and originally meant rinsing the throat. The pair names the cough reflex itself.
咳 — mouth 口 + child 亥
A phono-semantic compound: 口 (mouth) gives the meaning, since coughing comes from the mouth, while 亥 supplies the sound. Originally the character could mean a child's laugh (read hāi), but its dominant modern sense is 'to cough' (ké).