血口 (xuè kǒu) — bloody mouth (literal)

Definition

Literally 'blood mouth' — almost always seen in the idiom 血口喷人 ('slander viciously'). Rare as a standalone noun; the idiom form carries the figurative meaning of baseless, malicious accusation.

noun
bloody mouth (literal)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 血口，。
    Lǎo hǔ de xuè kǒu hái dī zhe xiān xuè, yàng zi shí fēn kě pà.
    The tiger's bloody mouth was still dripping fresh blood, looking extremely terrifying.
  • 血口，。
    Tā jìng zài huì yì shàng xuè kǒu pēn rén, wū miè tóng shì tōu qiè gōng kuǎn.
    He actually spewed slander at the meeting, falsely accusing a colleague of embezzling public funds.
  • 血口。
    Zhè zhǒng xuè kǒu pēn rén de xíng wéi yán zhòng sǔn hài le zhēn xiàng.
    This kind of malicious slander seriously damages the truth.

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
口kǒumouth

“血” (blood) describes “口” (mouth), giving a mouth stained with blood.

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Open 口 →

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