kaze wo hiku to, seki ya kusyami wo surukoto ga arimasu.

That is a very common question. In 風邪をひく, ひく is part of a fixed expression meaning to catch an illness, especially a cold.

• 風邪 = a cold
• 風邪をひく = to catch a cold

Even if you know 引く（ひく） as to pull, Japanese often has set combinations where the meaning is not fully predictable from the individual words.

A few useful comparisons:

• 風邪をひく = catch a cold
• インフルエンザにかかる = catch/get the flu

So for cold, Japanese usually says 風邪をひく, not something literally like cold catches you.

Because 風邪 is treated as the direct object of the verb ひく in this expression.

• 風邪をひく
• literally, the grammar works like [cold] + object marker + catch

Even though this does not match English grammar exactly, it is simply the standard Japanese pattern. So the best way to learn it is as one chunk:

• 風邪をひく = catch a cold

This is more natural than trying to translate each piece word-for-word.

Here, と means something like:

• when
• if
• whenever

It connects the first clause to a natural result in the second clause.

So:

• 風邪をひくと、せきやくしゃみをすることがあります。
• When/If you catch a cold, you may cough or sneeze.

The nuance of A と B is often: when A happens, B naturally follows

That is why it works well here. Catching a cold naturally leads to symptoms like coughing and sneezing.

Because before this conditional/result と, Japanese uses the plain form of the verb.

So:

• 風邪をひく
  • と
• not 風邪をひきますと in normal everyday style

This is true even in sentences that are overall polite at the end.

So the sentence mixes:

• plain form in the middle: ひく
• polite ending at the end: あります

That is completely normal in Japanese.

や is used to list examples, and it implies the list is not complete.

• せき = cough
• くしゃみ = sneeze
• せきやくしゃみ = things like coughing and sneezing / coughs and sneezes

So や is softer and less exhaustive than と.

Compare:

• せきとくしゃみ = cough and sneeze
  
  • sounds like a complete list
• せきやくしゃみ = cough, sneeze, and similar things
  
  • examples, not necessarily all symptoms

Here, や is very natural because coughing and sneezing are just some possible symptoms of a cold.

Because せき and くしゃみ are nouns, and Japanese often uses the pattern:

• noun + をする

to express an action.

So:

• せきをする = to cough
• くしゃみをする = to sneeze

This is a very common pattern in Japanese.

Other examples:

• 勉強をする = study
• 運動をする = exercise
• 電話をする = make a phone call

English often uses a single verb, but Japanese may use a noun plus する instead.

This pattern means:

• there are times when ...
• sometimes ...
• may ...

So:

• せきやくしゃみをすることがあります
• literally: there are times when one coughs or sneezes
• natural English: you may cough or sneeze / sometimes you cough or sneeze

The structure is:

• verb + こと = turning the action into a thing/event
• があります = there is/there are

So the whole pattern V-ることがあります means there are occasions when V happens.

Because こと is not a person or animal. It is an abstract thing/event.

Japanese uses:

• あります for things, events, abstract matters
• います for people and animals

Here, すること means the act/event of doing, so it takes あります:

• することがあります

not:

• することがいます ✘

No. It usually suggests that it happens sometimes or may happen, not that it always happens.

So this sentence does not mean:

• If you catch a cold, you always cough or sneeze.

It means more like:

• If you catch a cold, you may cough or sneeze.
• Sometimes, when you catch a cold, coughing or sneezing happens.

So the sentence sounds cautious and general, not absolute.

Yes, the subject is omitted, which is very common in Japanese.

Depending on context, it could mean:

• you
• people
• someone
• one

In a general statement like this, the meaning is usually something like:

• When people catch a cold, they may cough or sneeze.

Japanese often leaves out subjects when they are obvious from context or when the statement is general.

Yes, in natural English, that is often a better translation.

Strictly speaking:

• 風邪をひく = catch a cold

But in this sentence, English may sound more natural as:

• When you have a cold, you may cough or sneeze.

That is because English focuses more naturally on the state of having the cold when talking about symptoms. Japanese uses catch a cold, but the overall meaning is about the condition and its symptoms.

So both are understandable, but the most natural English translation may shift slightly.

Japanese often writes some words in hiragana even if kanji exist or could be used.

Possible kanji are:

• 風邪
• 引く for ひく
• 咳 for せき

But in many learning materials, easier or more common hiragana writing is used.

Also:

• くしゃみ is very often written in hiragana

So the mix of kanji and hiragana here is completely normal.

No. In normal Japanese writing, spaces are usually not used between words.

A natural version would be:

• 風邪をひくと、せきやくしゃみをすることがあります。

The spaced version is often used only for learners to make the sentence easier to read.

It is overall polite because it ends with あります.

Notice the mix:

• ひく = plain form
• する = plain form inside the sentence
• あります = polite ending

This is normal Japanese sentence structure. The politeness of the whole sentence is mainly shown at the end.

A more casual version might be:

• 風邪をひくと、せきやくしゃみをすることがある。

A polite version is:

• 風邪をひくと、せきやくしゃみをすることがあります。

Yes, but the nuance changes a little.

• 風邪をひくと、せきやくしゃみをすることがあります。
  
  • When/if you catch a cold, coughing or sneezing naturally may happen.
• 風邪をひいたら、せきやくしゃみをすることがあります。
  
  • If/when you catch a cold, you may cough or sneeze.
• 風邪をひけば、せきやくしゃみをすることがあります。
  
  • If you catch a cold, you may cough or sneeze.

Here, と feels especially suitable because the second part is a natural consequence of the first. That is why it sounds very natural in this sentence.