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血淋淋 (xuè lín lín) — bloody; gory; (figurative) stark; unvarnished; raw (of truth, facts)

Definition

Literally 'dripping with blood': vivid and shocking, used for scenes, accounts, or truths laid bare with no softening. The figurative sense ('stark, unvarnished') is the one you will mostly meet in reading.

bound form
bloodygory(figurative) starkunvarnishedraw (of truth, facts)

Examples

  • 血淋淋，。
    Dì shàng de xuè jì xuè lín lín de, ràng rén hài pà.
    The bloodstains on the floor were bloody and scary.
  • 血淋淋。
    Tā xiàng wǒ men zhǎn shì le zhè ge shè huì zuì xuè lín lín de xiàn shí.
    He showed us the starkest reality of this society.
  • 血淋淋，。
    Zhè piān bào dào xiě dé xuè lín lín, méi yǒu yì diǎn yǎn shì.
    This news report is written in an unvarnished way, without any concealment.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

血xuèblood
淋淋dripping; vivid
淋lín淋lín

血 means blood, and 淋淋 gives a vivid dripping sense, so 血淋淋 describes something bloody or stark.

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 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
林
林lín淋lín
Same sound today

The left side 氵 is water, and the right side 林 gives the character's sound.

Open 淋 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
林
林lín淋lín
Same sound today

The left side 氵 is water, and the right side 林 gives the character's sound.

Open 淋 →
Appears in
Injury & Disability

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