Sneezing in Chinese

Excuse me! In this part of the world, flu viruses appear to thrive in the months from November to April. We will take this opportunity to look at a few Chinese words associated with the ENT (Ear Nose Throat) department, namely 耳鼻喉科 (ěrbí hóu kē).

The Chinese word for ears is 耳朵 (ěrduǒ). Earlobes are called 耳垂 (ěrchuí). That’s where some women attach their earrings, or 耳环 (ěrhuán).

Very loud noises can damage one’s hearing.

他的耳朵聋了.
Tā de ěrduǒ lóngle.
His ears are deaf.

High-pitched noises irritate the nerves; they are annoying and could be maddening. When such noises come from inside the head, they are a symptom of tinnitus, or 耳鸣 (ěrmíng).
The idiomatic expression 隔墙有耳 (géqiángyǒu’ěr) means walls have ears.

充耳不闻 (chōng’ěrbùwén) means turning a deaf ear to.

耳边风 (ěrbiānfēng) is unheeded advice, like wind passing by one’s ears.

她把我的劝告当做耳边风.
Tā bǎ wǒ de quàngào dàngzuò ěrbiānfēng.
She ignored my advice.

The Chinese word fo nose is 鼻 (bí), or 鼻子 (bízi).

大象的鼻子很长.
Dà xiàng de bízi hěn zhǎng.
An elephant’s trunk is very long.

鼻涕 (bítì) means snot. 鼻塞 (bísāi) means having a stuffy nose.

流 (liú) means a flow or to flow. It indicates motion of some fluid. Therefore, 流鼻涕 (liú bítì) means having a runny nose, 流鼻血 (liú bíxiě) is to have a nosebleed, 流泪 (liúlèi) is to weep, and 流口水 (liú kǒushuǐ) is to salivate.

鼻孔 (bíkǒng) are nostrils. If we say that two people exhale through one and the same nostril, we mean that they side with each other, take the same stance and are of exactly the same mind.

他们两人一个鼻孔出气.
Tāmen liǎng rén yīgè bíkǒng chūqì.
They both sing the same tune.

Sinuses are called 鼻窦 (bídòu). A sinus inflammation is called 鼻窦炎 (bídòu yán). Notice how the word 炎 (yán) is made up of two fire characters?

Hay fever is an allergy caused by pollen or dust. It’s called 干草热 (gāncǎo rè) or花粉热 (huāfěn rè) in Chinese. The eyes, ears and throat may feel itchy; one sneezes and may also have a runny nose. No matter what it sounds like, “achoo”, “hachooo”, or “ech”, a sneeze is part of a universal body language that everyone understands. The Chinese word for a sneeze is 喷嚏 (pēntì). To sneeze is 打喷嚏 (dǎ pēntì). The expression corresponding to “Bless you.” is 百岁 (bǎisuì), i.e. wishing a long life to the sneezer. The sneezers are customarily not expected to say anything to excuse themselves.

他接连打了很多次喷嚏.
Tā jiēlián dǎle hěnduō cì pēntì.
He sneezed many times in succession.

As shown in Chapter 14 of “Learn Chinese through Songs and Rhymes“, 打 (dǎ hit or beat) also serves as the verb “to do”.

The Chinese word for the throat is 喉 (hóu) or 喉咙 (hóulóng). 歌喉 (gēhóu) means singing voice.

她有很好的歌喉.
Tā yǒu hěn hǎo de gēhóu
She has a good voice.

The tonsil is called 扁桃体 (biǎntáotǐ). Therefore, 扁桃体炎 (biǎntáotǐ yán) is inflammation of the toansil, i.e. tonsillitis.

The tongue is called 舌 (shé) or 舌头 (shétou). 口 (kǒu) is the mouth. The Chinese idiom 張口結舌 (zhāngkǒujiéshé) means agape and tongue-tied. You can use it to describe someone who is at a loss for words.

打鼾 (dǎhān) means to snore. When you snore, you are breathing through your mouth and not through your nose. Consequently, you might wake up with a dry and/or sore throat, not to mention that you might suffer from sleep apnea and feel sleepy during the day. Well, there are exercises you could do to strengthen your tongue and throat and reduce or eliminate the snoring. If you would like to try them, click on this link.

By the way, singing provides an excellent opportunity to exercise your tongue and throat, as well as your vocal cords. I suppose singing in Chinese would be a somewhat strenuous exercise, as making some of the sounds requires the use of muscles normally not called upon to speak or sing in another language. You can download the audio files for “Learn Chinese through Songs and Rhymes” to sing along with the loads of simple songs in Chinese.