Chinese word

咳痰

Pronunciation

Pinyinké tán

Meaning

  • nouncough with phlegm

Example

病人有咳痰的症状。bìng rén yǒu ké tán de zhèng zhuàng

The patient's symptoms include a cough with phlegm.

Illustration for 咳痰 (cough with phlegm)

More examples

医生说如果咳痰带血需要再检查。yī shēng shuō rú guǒ ké tán dài xuè xū yào zài jiǎn chá

The doctor said that if the phlegm they cough up contains blood, they need another checkup.

Core concept

A cough marked by mucus in the airway that comes up or feels lodged in the throat.

Common phrases

  • 有咳痰yǒu ké tán

    have a phlegmy cough

  • 咳痰的治疗ké tán de zhì liáo

    treatment for a phlegmy cough

  • 咳痰好转ké tán háo zhuǎn

    improvement of a phlegmy cough

Similar words

痰tán: Sticky mucus that collects in the throat or airway.
咳嗽ké sòu: A cough caused by irritation in the throat or airway.

Definition in Chinese

因呼吸道分泌物在气管或咽喉处停留而在咳嗽时出现痰液排出或痰塞感的情况。yīn hū xī dào fēn mì wù zài qì guǎn huò yān hóu chù tíng liú ér zài ké sòu shí chū xiàn tán yè pái chū huò tán sāi gǎn de qíng kuàng

Word origin

咳痰 (kétán, "cough with phlegm") is formed from 咳 (ké, "to cough") + 痰 (tán, "phlegm"), joining the coughing action with the material it brings up.

Usage tips

  • In medical English, a cough that brings mucus up is often called a productive cough, where productive means producing sputum rather than being useful.

Other meanings

  • cough to clear phlegmverb
  • cough up phlegmverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word