血丝 (xuè sī) — bloodshot streaks (in the eye); tiny red lines of blood (on skin or whites of eyes)

Definition

A literal 'blood thread' — the red streaks visible in the whites of bloodshot eyes or faintly on flushed skin, not a wound. Pinyin xiě (not xuè) is the colloquial reading for this everyday word.

noun
bloodshot streaks (in the eye)tiny red lines of blood (on skin or whites of eyes)

Examples

  • ，血丝。
    Tā áo le yí yè, yǎn jing lǐ bù mǎn xuè sī.
    He stayed up all night, and his eyes were covered with bloodshot streaks.
  • 血丝，。
    Tā de yǎn bái shàng yǒu yì sī xuè sī, kě néng shì guò mǐn le.
    There was a tiny red line on the white of her eye — she might be having an allergic reaction.
  • ，血丝。
    Jǐn zhāng de shí hou, tā de liǎn shàng huì chū xiàn dàn dàn de xuè sī.
    When he's nervous, faint red streaks appear on his face.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

血xuèblood
丝sīthread

血 is blood and 丝 means fine thread, forming blood threads or streaks.

Characters in this word

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 絲; 丝 is its simplified writing.

  • 糸糸mì
  • 糸糸mì

In the traditional form 絲, the shape is two 糸 written together; this is about 絲, not the simplified 丝.

Open 丝 →

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