血污 (xuè wū) — bloodstain | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

bloodstain

Measure word · 块

血污。
Tā de yī fu shàng yǒu xuè wū.
There is a bloodstain on his clothes.
血污。
Jǐng chá zài xiàn chǎng fā xiàn le xuè wū.
The police found bloodstains at the scene.
血污。
Tā yòng shuǐ xǐ diào le shǒu shàng de xuè wū.
He washed the bloodstains off his hands with water.

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 gives blood and 污 gives a stain, meaning a bloodstain.

Characters in this word

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

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

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 汙; 污 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

于

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

The traditional form 汙 pairs 水 (water) with 于 for the sound; the simplified 污 is a later shorthand.