# hanahaki

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A fictional illness in which a person bearing an unrequited love coughs up flower petals until they die or their feelings are reciprocated. The disease can also be cured by a surgical procedure that removes the flowers, but this will result in them losing their feelings of affection and all memories of the person they loved.

## Etymology
From Japanese 花吐き病 (hanahaki-byō), from 花 (hana, “flower”) + 吐く (haku, “to vomit”). An invention of Matsuda Naoko (松田奈緒子) for her manga Hanahaki Otome (『花吐き乙女』).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hanahaki