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吐血 (tù xiě) — (verb, separable) to spit blood (literal); (colloquial, figurative) to be extremely frustrated, to have a terrible time; to be fed up; (noun) spitting blood (medical condition)

Definition

Literal 'spit blood' (a medical symptom), used as a colloquial exaggeration for being extremely frustrated or overwhelmed — like English 'it's killing me'. The verb is separable: 吐血 → 吐…血 (e.g., 吐了一口血).

verb
(verb, separable) to spit blood (literal)(colloquial, figurative) to be extremely frustratedto have a terrible timeto be fed up
noun
spitting blood (medical condition)

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā ké dé lì hài, tǔ le hǎo jǐ kǒu xuè.
    He coughed badly and spat several mouthfuls of blood.
  • ，吐血。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù tài nán le, wǒ kuài tù xiě le.
    This project is too hard — it's killing me!
  • 吐血。
    tù xiě Shì yì zhǒng xū yào jí shí zhì liáo de bìng zhèng.
    Spitting blood is a condition that requires timely treatment.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

吐tǔspit
血xuèblood

“吐” means spit and “血” means blood, so the word literally describes spitting blood.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
土
土tǔ吐tǔ
Same sound today

吐 pairs 口, the mouth, with 土, which gives the sound.

Open 吐 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 一一yīdrop of blood
  • 皿皿mǐncontainer

The shape shows 一, a drop of blood, inside 皿, a container, for blood held in a sacrificial vessel.

Open 血 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsIllness & Symptoms

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