expression, godan verb (-ru)
sniffle; snivel
Describes the action of audibly drawing mucus back into the nose, often when crying or having a cold.
彼女は泣きながら鼻をすすった。
She sniffled as she cried.
風邪で鼻をすする音がうるさい。
The sound of sniffling from a cold is annoying.
Standard kana-mixed spelling; the verb すする is usually written in kana.
Kanji spelling using 啜る; less common but still encountered.
Uses the kanji 洟 for 'nasal mucus'; rare and literary.
Combines rare kanji 洟 and 啜る; very uncommon.
鼻をかむ means to blow one's nose (expelling mucus), while 鼻をすする means to sniffle (drawing mucus back in).
The verb すする is an onomatopoeic word imitating the sound of sipping or sniffling. The phrase 鼻をすする literally means 'to sip the nose'.