くしゃみが出(で)る

The natural Japanese way to say "to sneeze." Unlike English where "sneeze" is a single verb, Japanese uses the expression くしゃみが出(で)る (literally "a sneeze comes out"), treating the sneeze as something that happens involuntarily.

There is a popular Japanese superstition that if someone sneezes, it means someone is talking about them. One sneeze means someone is praising you, two means someone is criticizing you.

Common collocations

• くしゃみが止(と)まらない: can't stop sneezing
• くしゃみが出(で)そう: feel like sneezing
• 大(おお)きなくしゃみ: a big sneeze
• くしゃみを連発(れんぱつ)する: to sneeze repeatedly

Related words

• 鼻水(はなみず)が出(で)る: to have a runny nose — often occurs together with sneezing
• 咳(せき)が出(で)る: to cough — follows the same ～が出(で)る pattern for involuntary body responses
• 花粉症(かふんしょう): hay fever — the most common cause of sneezing in spring in Japan