tameiki ため息

In Japanese, tameiki ため息 means a "sigh," like a sigh of relief or a weary sigh. In manga and anime, these are generally rendered as a little cloud of smoke coming out of the character's mouth.

It's also spelled tameiki タメ息, tameiki 溜め息, or tameiki 溜息 without okurigana.

Character: AE3803
Anime: Hataraku Saibou はたらく細胞 (Episode 2)

• "To Sigh" in Japanese
• Examples

"To Sigh" in Japanese

The word tameiki ため息 is a noun. It means a "sigh," not "to sigh," which would be a verb. To say "to sigh" in Japanese, you would say:

• tameiki wo tsuku
  ため息をつく
  To blow a sigh.
  To sigh.
  • tsuku
    吐く
    To blow. To breathe out.
  • uso wo tsuku
    嘘をつく
    To blow lies.
    To lie.
• tameiki wo tsuku to shiawase ga nigeru
  ため息をつくと幸せが逃げる
  If [you] sigh, happiness escapes.
  • A Japanese saying meaning that if you sigh you'll become unhappy, used when telling someone to stop sighing.

Examples

For reference, some examples of characters sighing in anime.

Character: Aioi Yuuko 相生祐子
Anime: Nichijou 日常 (Episode 1)

Character: Kawai Sumiko 河合住子
Anime: Bokura wa Minna Kawai-sou 僕らはみんな河合荘 (Episode 1)

Manga: Kobayashi-san Chi no Meidoragon 小林さんちのメイドラゴン (Chapter 4, トールと嫉妬)

• Context: Kobayashi 小林 goes to a nomikai 飲み会 in the company of Tohru トール.
• puhaa
  プハー
  *sigh used after gulping down a lot of beer*
  (onomatopoeia.)
  • A satisfied sigh complete with radiated lines emanating from her.
• shigoto-owari no ippai wa saikou da ne!!
  仕事終わりの１杯は最高だね！！
  The one glass [after]-work is the best, [isn't it]!!
  • owari - noun form of owaru 終わる, "to end."
  • shigoto-owari - end of work, i.e. after one's work ends.
• Kobayashi-san φ kawaii
  小林さんかわいい
  Kobayashi-san is cute.

Beware that sometimes the character isn't sighing. Instead, the smoke is their soul is coming out of their mouths.

Character: Dino ディーノ
Anime: Blend S, ブレンド・S (Episode 5)