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血本 (xuè běn) — hard-earned capital; life savings (esp. what one puts into a business or risky venture)

Definition

Literally 'blood capital' — the money someone worked hard to earn, now risked in a business or investment. Almost always appears in fixed phrases like 血本无归 (lose everything) or 下血本 (invest heavily).

noun
hard-earned capitallife savings (esp. what one puts into a business or risky venture)

Examples

  • 血本。
    Tā bǎ suǒ yǒu xuè běn dōu tóu jìn le zhè jiā diàn.
    He put all his hard-earned capital into this shop.
  • ，血本。
    Zhè cì shēng yì shī bài, tā de xuè běn quán dōu kuī guāng le.
    This business failed, and he lost all his hard-earned capital.
  • ，血本。
    Wèi le zhè ge xiàng mù, wǒ zhǐ hǎo xià xuè běn tóu zī.
    For this project, I had to dig deep into my savings and invest heavily.

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
本běncapital

血本 joins 血 (blood) and 本 (capital): capital earned at great cost.

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 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

Open 本 →
Appears in
Finance & Banking

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