Japanese word

風邪

Pronunciation

Romajikaze

Meaning

  • nouncold

Example

風邪をひきました。kaze o hi ki ma shi ta

I caught a cold.

Illustration for 風邪 (cold)

More examples

昨日、風邪をひきました。kinō kaze o hi ki ma shi ta

I caught a cold yesterday.

風邪のときは、よく休んでください。kaze no to ki wa yo ku yasu n de ku da sa i

Get plenty of rest when you have a cold.

Core concept

Describes a short-term respiratory illness that can bring a runny nose, coughing, or a sore throat.

Common phrases

  • 風邪をひくkaze o hi ku

    catch a cold

  • 風邪が治るkaze ga nao ru

    recover from a cold

  • 風邪がうつるkaze ga u tsu ru

    catch a cold from someone

Definition in Japanese

ウイルスなどによって、鼻やのどに不調が現れる病気。u i ru su na do ni yo tte hana ya no do ni fu chō ga arawa re ru byō ki

Word origin

風邪 (kaze) comes from the native word 風 (kaze, "wind") in its illness-related sense, while 邪 (ja, "harmful influence") was added in the established spelling to suggest harmful wind.

Usage tips

  • In beginner conversations, 風邪 (kaze) is useful for describing an illness, whereas chilly weather is expressed with words about temperature.

Other meanings

  • flunoun

Word lists with this word