含泪 (hán lèi) — to have tears in one's eyes; to be tearful (verb-object phrase)

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'with tears in one's eyes' — used to describe someone doing something while holding back tears, often before finally crying. It's a verb-object phrase: 含 (hold in the mouth/contain) + 泪 (tears).

verb
to have tears in one's eyesto be tearful (verb-object phrase)

Examples

  • 含泪。
    Tā hán lèi shuō wán le zuì hòu yí jù huà.
    She finished the last sentence with tears in her eyes.
  • ，。
    Tā hán zhe yǎn lèi, shēn shēn kàn le wǒ yì yǎn.
    With tears in his eyes, he gave me a deep look.
  • ，。
    Tā hán le bàn tiān de lèi, zhōng yú kū le chū lái.
    She held back tears for a long time and finally burst into crying.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

含hánhold
泪lèitears

含 means to hold and 泪 means tears, together meaning to hold tears in the eyes.

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
今
今jīn含hán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

含 is built from 口 (mouth) and 今 (jīn). The 口 part is about the mouth, while 今 gives the sound.

Open 含 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 淚; 泪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
戾
戾lì淚lèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 淚 uses 水 (water) and 戾 for sound; this describes 淚, not 泪.

Open 泪 →

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