Definition

1. Noun: - Dry cough, hacking cough: A cough that does not produce phlegm or mucus. It is often irritating and can be caused by throat irritation, allergies, or the early stages of a cold.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Tôi bị ho khan mấy ngày nay. (I have had a dry cough for a few days.)
  • Ho khan thường gây ngứa và đau rát cổ họng. (A dry cough often causes itching and a sore throat.)
  • Bác sĩ nói triệu chứng của cô ấy chỉ là ho khan thông thường. (The doctor said her symptom is just a common dry cough.)

Advanced Usage

• Medical Context: In medical descriptions, "ho khan" specifically differentiates a non-productive cough from a productive one ("ho có đờm").
  • Bệnh nhân được chẩn đoán viêm họng với biểu hiện chính là ho khan. (The patient was diagnosed with pharyngitis, with the main symptom being a dry cough.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ho có đờm (n): Productive cough, wet cough (a cough that produces phlegm).
• Ho gà (n): Whooping cough, pertussis (a specific, severe infectious disease causing a characteristic cough).
• Ho (n/v): Cough (the general term for the act or condition).

Synonyms

• Toux sèche (French loanword used in some Vietnamese medical contexts): Dry cough.
• Cơn ho không có đờm: A non-productive cough episode.

Related Phrases

• Bị ho khan: To have/suffer from a dry cough.
  • Trẻ nhỏ dễ bị ho khan khi thời tiết thay đổi. (Young children easily get a dry cough when the weather changes.)
• Chữa ho khan: To treat a dry cough.
  • Mật ong có thể giúp chữa ho khan tại nhà. (Honey can help treat a dry cough at home.)

Related Idioms

(Note: "Ho khan" is a specific medical term and is not commonly used in figurative idioms. The general word "ho" (cough) is used instead.) - Ho như cuốc kêu: To cough violently and noisily (like a bird's call). This idiom describes a severe, hacking cough, which can sometimes be a "ho khan." - Ốm nặng, anh ấy ho như cuốc kêu cả đêm. (Being seriously ill, he coughed violently all night.)

1. Dry cough, hacking cough