'Pēn tì' literally combines 喷 (pēn), meaning 'to spray' or 'to expel forcefully', and 嚏 (tì), a character used only in this compound and referring specifically to the involuntary expulsion of air through the nose and mouth. Together, they form the standard, neutral noun for 'sneeze' in modern Mandarin — a physiological reflex triggered by nasal irritation, allergies, or cold viruses.

This word is commonly used in everyday health-related contexts: describing symptoms ('I have a cold and keep sneezing'), giving advice ('Cover your mouth when you sneeze'), or observing behavior ('He let out a loud sneeze'). Unlike English, Chinese doesn’t use 'pēn tì' as a verb; instead, the verb phrase 打喷嚏 (dǎ pēn tì) — literally 'to strike a sneeze' — is required to express the action. The noun itself appears most often after measure words like 个 or 次, or in compound terms like 喷嚏声 (the sound of a sneeze).