1.
to sneeze
To involuntarily expel air from the nose and mouth; the standard way to express sneezing in Japanese.
くしゃみが出た。
I sneezed.
花粉の季節はくしゃみが止まらない。
During pollen season, I can't stop sneezing.
急にくしゃみが出そうになって、慌てて口を手で押さえた。
A sneeze suddenly felt like it was coming, and I hurriedly covered my mouth with my hand.
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:
- くしゃみが止まらない: can't stop sneezing
- くしゃみが出そう: feel like sneezing
- 大きなくしゃみ: a big sneeze
- くしゃみを連発する: to sneeze repeatedly
RELATED EXPRESSIONS:
- 鼻水が出る: to have a runny nose — often occurs together with sneezing
- 咳が出る: to cough — follows the same ～が出る pattern for involuntary body responses
- 花粉症: hay fever — the most common cause of sneezing in spring in Japan