How to Write 嗽 (sòu) — Meaning “To cough; to rinse.”

Imagine you have a bundle of tissues (束) because you are sick, and you use your mouth (口) to cough (sòu) while yawning (欠). The combination of mouth, bundle, and yawn helps recall the character's sound and meaning. This visual story links all components in a memorable way.

Write the left radical 口 first, keeping it small and positioned high. Then write 束: the horizontal stroke at the top, then a vertical through it, and finally 欠 with a left-falling stroke as its first stroke. A common mistake is mixing up the order of strokes in 欠 or making the 束 part too wide.

嗽 contains 钦 (束 + 欠) on the right, while 啻 has 帝 (emperor) on the right and means 'only' (as in 不啻). The character 㕡 is extremely rare and represents a gully or ravine, with a completely different meaning. Visually, 嗽's right side has a 'bundle' and 'yawn' shape, unlike the others.

嗽 appears most often in the common word 咳嗽 (ké sòu), meaning 'to cough.' It also appears in 嗽口 (sòu kǒu), meaning to rinse or gargle the mouth, though 漱口 (shù kǒu) is more standard. You might also see 咳嗽声 (ké sòu shēng) for 'the sound of coughing' in written descriptions.

Common words containing 嗽 include: 咳嗽 (ké sòu) — cough; 嗽口 (sòu kǒu) — To rinse one's mouth; to gargle.; 咳嗽声 (ké sòu shēng) — the sound of coughing.