気管(きかん)

きかん
noun
windpipe; trachea
body-internal
1. windpipe; trachea
The tube that carries air from the throat to the lungs. Used in medical, anatomical, and everyday health contexts.
気管(きかん)に食(た)べ物(もの)が入(はい)った。
Food went down my windpipe.
気管(きかん)が炎症(えんしょう)を起(お)こしている。
The trachea is inflamed.
喫煙(きつえん)は気管(きかん)や肺(はい)に大(おお)きな負担(ふたん)をかける。
Smoking puts great strain on the windpipe and lungs.

気(き) here means 'air' or 'breath,' and 管(かん) means 'tube' or 'pipe.' 気管(きかん) is the standard term for the trachea, used in both medical and everyday language. The word appears frequently in discussions of respiratory health, choking, and smoking.

Common collocations

  • 気管(きかん)に入(はい)る (to go down the wrong pipe)
  • 気管(きかん)支(し) (bronchus, bronchial tube)
  • 気管(きかん)支炎(しえん) (bronchitis)
  • 気管(きかん)切開(せっかい) (tracheotomy)
  • 気管(きかん)挿管(そうかん) (intubation)

Similar words

  • 食道(しょくどう) — esophagus (the tube for food, running parallel to the trachea)
  • 喉(のど) — throat (the general area; less specific than 気管(きかん))
  • 気管支(きかんし) — bronchi (the branches that split off from the trachea into the lungs)

Related Words

Compare: 喉(のど) (throat (the general area)
Related: 肺(はい) (lung, lungs)
general
Added 2026.4.1 7:14 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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