咳 (ké) is a Chinese character meaning “to cough”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 亥 (the twelfth Earthly Branch), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to cough”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
口 + 亥
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·口部（咳，小兒笑也。从口亥聲）；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：9 画 = 口 3 画 + 亥 6 画
Memory aid
A mouth (口) with 亥 next to it. 亥 is only here for the sound — what the mouth pushes out is the noise itself: a cough.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 干咳gān kédry cough (a cough that brings up no phlegm)咳 = ké
- 止咳zhǐ kéto relieve a cough; cough-suppressing咳 = ké
Go deeper
All readings
to cough
to cough
气流从肺里冲出、发出声音；咳嗽。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 干咳gān kédry cough (a cough that brings up no phlegm)咳 = ké
- 止咳zhǐ kéto relieve a cough; cough-suppressing咳 = ké
Rare readings, not taught: hāi
Sound component
亥 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 咳 mean?
咳 (ké) means to cough.
How do you pronounce 咳?
It is pronounced ké.
What parts is 咳 made of?
口 (mouth) and 亥 (the twelfth Earthly Branch), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·口部（咳，小兒笑也。从口亥聲）；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：9 画 = 口 3 画 + 亥 6 画. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 咳 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 咳?
口. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 咳?
Common ones are 干咳 and 止咳. The reading of 咳 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.