Word Detail

The Japanese word 呼吸します, pronounced こきゅうします (kokyuu shimasu), means "to breathe" or "to respire." It describes the act of taking in air (oxygen) and expelling air (carbon dioxide) from the lungs. This word is a verb and indicates the process of breathing. 呼吸 (kokyuu) by itself means "breathing" or "respiration." The します (shimasu) part is the polite, present tense, affirmative form of the verb する (suru), meaning "to do." Therefore, [呼吸します] literally means "to do breathing," but it's understood as "to breathe."

⚫︎深呼吸します。 Translation: I take a deep breath. ⚫︎水中で呼吸します。 Translation: I breathe underwater. ⚫︎運動中は速く呼吸します。 Translation: I breathe quickly during exercise.

⚫︎ You can use [呼吸します] in various contexts related to breathing. ⚫︎ It's applicable when discussing physical activities, health, or even natural phenomena. ⚫︎ It is a formal way of speaking and suitable for general conversation. ⚫︎When you want to emphasize the action of breathing, or discuss breathing in a general way.

⚫︎ The word is typically written in a combination of kanji and hiragana: 呼吸します. ⚫︎ 呼吸 is the kanji form of the word, and します is in hiragana. ⚫︎ The reading, こきゅうします, uses hiragana. ⚫︎ The okurigana (the hiragana that follows the kanji) is します. There are no variations in the okurigana for this verb. ⚫︎ The other conjugation include: 呼吸した(kokyuu shita - breathed), 呼吸しない(kokyuu shinai - does not breathe), 呼吸しませんでした(kokyuu shimasen deshita - did not breathe).

⚫︎ While there aren't direct, one-word synonyms for "to breathe" in Japanese that are as common, you could use phrases depending on the context: ⚫︎ 息を吸う (iki o suu) - to inhale; literally, "to suck in breath." ⚫︎ 息を吐く (iki o haku) - to exhale; literally, "to breathe out." ⚫︎ 呼吸をする (kokyuu o suru) - a more literal and slightly less common way of saying "to breathe."

⚫︎ There are no direct antonyms for [呼吸します] in the sense of a single verb. However, you can express the opposite action (stopping breathing) using phrases: ⚫︎ 息を止める (iki o tomeru) - to hold one's breath; literally, "to stop breath." ⚫︎ 息をしない (iki o shinai) - not breathing (in a situation when you're expected to be breathing).

深い[呼吸します]はリラックスできます。 ・Translation: Taking deep breaths can help you relax. ・Explanation: This sentence describes how the act of [呼吸します], specifically deep breathing, can have a positive effect.

彼女は苦しくて[呼吸します]のに苦労していました。 ・Translation: She was struggling to breathe because she was in pain. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the difficulty of [呼吸します] in a context of physical distress.

⚫︎ 呼吸 (kokyuu) is a compound word. ⚫︎ 呼 (ko) means "to call out" or "to breathe out." ⚫︎ 吸 (kyuu) means "to inhale" or "to breathe in." ⚫︎ します (shimasu) is the verb "to do". ⚫︎ Therefore, the combined meaning represents the two-part action of breathing: exhaling and inhaling.