How many syllables does your average sneeze have?

[atchoum]

Any idea as to the average number of sylllables for a sneeze ?

My most common sneeze is two syllables ( tish oo) but three syllables are common too (a more *open* sneeze).

What about you ?

[Lynne]

That's a damn good question.... to be honest, I don't even know. I've never paid close attention before.

[The Sneezster]

Two. "Ah-ptchew!"

[King_of_the_ruins]

mine is just your typical 2 syllable "ah choo"

[sneezesweater]

MY sneezes are always multi syllable. of at least 3. However, as I've grown older i've begun to sneeze with 4 or 5 syllable more often that not. They sound hillarious.. kind of like HA ESH ESH ESH SHOO

Go figure

[atchoum]

Very interesting. Does it feel like one sneeze with multiple syllables, or many short sneezes, one after the other ?

Edited January 21, 2008 by Lynne

[allabs]

Two. "Ah-ptchew!"

Cute Sneeze!!!

[Daphine]

I would have to say 3 or more since I always seam to have a little build up action before I sneeze

[sleepin sig]

That is definitely a very good question. I think mine is 2.. maybe 3 sometimes because once in a while I'll let mine trail off.

[MyOwnPrivateSFC]

This may not be a fair answer, since I always stifle mine, but since you can still hear them, I'll give you the answer for those: usually two syllables, "heh-chh!" or "eh-chh!" or sometimes "ah-chh!" Sometimes I have a short build-up first, so then they'd be three, "heh...hah-chh!" And sometimes, they're almost silent (hell, occasionally they are perfectly silent, but almost never, and never when I need them to be! ), so just one syllable: "chh!"

Thanks for asking; this was a fun topic to answer!

Abyssinia,

Barrie

[ringsfan02]

My typical sneeze consists of two syllables. "aaahtttshoooo!" But if I'm alone I will sometimes deliberately make three syllables out of it. Something like "aahtsttshoooahh! My stepdad used to sneeze three syllables all the time. I usually don't especially in public. But once in a rare while if its a particularly strong or intense sneeze, I'll sneeze three syllables without it being intentional.

[Guest LadyErisana]

I very rarely sneeze, so for me I don't keep track of how many syllables mine has. But from what I remember it's usually just one, and hard to describe LOL sort of like CSHHHHHHH LOL. I've gotten very strange looks from friends if I sneeze around them because it's so odd haha.

[Eson]

I kind of think it depends on certain aspects for me, like the itch or whatever is making me sneeze.

[cisforcookie22]

I am with Sneezesweater on this one; my sneezes have at least 3 syllables, not counting the long indrawn breath at the beginning. I often have the most ridiculous build-ups! My typical sneeze is along the lines of:

"hhhhhuuuhh......hhhuuuh......hiihh! Hiihhh! Hiihh! Ha-chew!" Three really defined hitched breaths, most times. When I'm alone, I greatly enjoy my sneezes, but in public? No way! It's not that they're loud, it's just you can't miss them...I put on quite a show, whether I like it or not. Gah! In class is the worst, I could go on for awhile about how uncomfortable THAT can be, but I'm sure many of you guys already understand.

I am also afraid to sneeze in public b/c I fear that everyone will think I am exaggerating my sneeze for attention, when I'm not! It is just like that for some reason! I wish I could sneeze more often at home though, because my sneeze does feel amazing!

[count tiszula]

I am with Sneezesweater on this one; my sneezes have at least 3 syllables, not counting the long indrawn breath at the beginning. I often have the most ridiculous build-ups! My typical sneeze is along the lines of:

"hhhhhuuuhh......hhhuuuh......hiihh! Hiihhh! Hiihh! Ha-chew!" Three really defined hitched breaths, most times. When I'm alone, I greatly enjoy my sneezes, but in public? No way! It's not that they're loud, it's just you can't miss them...I put on quite a show, whether I like it or not. Gah! In class is the worst, I could go on for awhile about how uncomfortable THAT can be, but I'm sure many of you guys already understand.

I am also afraid to sneeze in public b/c I fear that everyone will think I am exaggerating my sneeze for attention, when I'm not! It is just like that for some reason! I wish I could sneeze more often at home though, because my sneeze does feel amazing!

Very interesting; I've noticed the triple inhalation in a few people; I wonder how common it is; I suspect that you don't usually notice it because it is very quiet and just looks like one big inhale. And if it is common, why should this be? Two would seem just about sensible; the first one goes away, but the second achieves critical sneeze mass; but three? Do the first two feel as if they're failed sneezes, or it is all somehow absolutely necessary to achieve sneeze-off?

And welcome to the forum.

Well, as for me, having a horrible male sneeze it tends towards the trisyllabic A-Rash-aa; but interestingly if it gets even more masculine it can shorten to a monosyllabic harsh sneeze; yes, it goes HARSH! Which box do I tick?

Edited February 7, 2008 by count de tisza

[chui]

hmmm....mine are almost always 2 syllables, generally something like "Heh'tchuu!" but i have been known to have a sorta three syllable one where i start off the same, but end up raising the pitch of the last syllable and giving a very girly sound, like "Heht'chui!" (the last two syllables being where i got my name from)

[justmistme]

mine would be just like chui's! except, not the girly sound at the end haha. but i start with that "heh" sound, and finish with a shoo i guess..the "ch" is too abrupt to describe it, but its still abrupt for a shh if that makes sense. but it depends on how hard im sneezing, they tend to change a little. its the worst when im sick, i sneeze soo hard, and lately have been getting the sneezes more and more.

[cisforcookie22]

Very interesting; I've noticed the triple inhalation in a few people; I wonder how common it is; I suspect that you don't usually notice it because it is very quiet and just looks like one big inhale. And if it is common, why should this be? Two would seem just about sensible; the first one goes away, but the second achieves critical sneeze mass; but three? Do the first two feel as if they're failed sneezes, or it is all somehow absolutely necessary to achieve sneeze-off?

And welcome to the forum.

Well, as for me, having a horrible male sneeze it tends towards the trisyllabic A-Rash-aa; but interestingly if it gets even more masculine it can shorten to a monosyllabic harsh sneeze; yes, it goes HARSH! Which box do I tick?

Thanks for the welcome! Well, Count de tisza, to answer your question, the first two don't really feel like failed sneezes, they just warn you that a sneeze is building. It's like, the first inhale comes with a small tickle, and then it goes away. The second inhale comes with a stronger tickle, and then it fades away. The third inhale's tickle does not fade, it just goes right into the "ha-chew!" part of the sneeze. I don't know how common this phenominon is, but I almost never see it, then again, people probably try to conceal/stifle it in public.

Oh, and don't insult your masculine sneeze! Male sneezes make the world go round!

[cisforcookie22]

Okay I don't know how I messed up my last post, but just to let you know, the first part belongs to Count de Tisza. My part starts at, "Thanks for the welcome!". I am responding to what Count said. Just wanted to throw that out there. .. Thanks!

[atchoum]

Well, as for me, having a horrible male sneeze it tends towards the trisyllabic A-Rash-aa; but interestingly if it gets even more masculine it can shorten to a monosyllabic harsh sneeze; yes, it goes HARSH! Which box do I tick?

This contribution from the Count was never commented on, so I'm bumping the thread. I wonder if the "trisyllabic A-Rash-aa" sneeze is typically masculine (reads a bit like mine - might be a generational thing too). Yesterday, arriving early at work - about 7.15 - I heard a roared sneeze of this nature from the building opposite, through closed windows, all three syllables grotesquely emphasized. No woman could sneeze like that!

[Jemmabean]

Thinking harder about it (and doing a couple of affected ones just to be sure ) I've come to the conclusion that my own are normally tri-syllabic, as opposed to bi-syllabic as I previously posted. Chui, feel free to correct me if you feel I'm wrong in this evaluation.

[aquadyne14]

Good question! Mine also, like others, depend where the sneeze is coming from. If I stiffle (which isn't often) it's 1 syllable, kinda like a duck noise (ha ha). Normally though, it's two syllables "hey-chew", not the best spelling in the world, but something like that! Cold sneezes sound usually like a cough. My fav's are the normal ones though...

[Guest danky]

Mine are typically 3, but 2's are not unusual for me either. It depends on how audible the pre-"CH" bit decides to be. The "CH" itself somehow manages to become it's own syllable most of the time, with varying volume and levels of girlyness on the "uu" afterwards. It ranges from a whisper to a little harsh, with higher pitch relating to how sharp a tingle brought it on. And then there are the rogues that throw the whole analysis off... but ever so nicely so...

[atchoum]

I hope the community doesn't mind seeing this ancient thread resurrected, but it is a bit out of frustration from having missed so many sneezes in the metro this week. It must be the start of the cold season, because I was hearing people sneeze all the time, but because it was crowded I almost never got to see who actually sneezed : frustrating isn't it ?

Anyhow, after three of these missed opportunities, I realised that all three were single-syllable sneezes. It may be because it was a crowded train, and this was the next best thing to stifling, but it did seem a little unusual, so I looked for this thread and see that more than half of us have a two syllable sneeze, and less than 15% only a single syllable. So my conclusion is that single syllable sneezes heard in the metro may well be partly voluntary shortening.