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血缘 (xuè yuán) — blood relationship; consanguinity

Definition

血缘 refers to the biological blood tie between relatives — the shared family bond by birth. 血脉 is similar but emphasizes the unbroken line of descent (lineage/ancestry) more than the biological relationship itself.

noun
blood relationshipconsanguinity

Examples

  • 血缘。
    xuè yuán Guān xì shì jiā zú chuán chéng de jī chǔ.
    Blood relationship is the foundation of family lineage.
  • ，血缘。
    Zài fǎ lǜ shàng, xuè yuán guān xì jué dìng le jì chéng quán.
    Legally, blood relationship determines inheritance rights.
  • 血缘，。
    Yǎng fù mǔ suī rán méi yǒu xuè yuán, dàn gǎn qíng shēn hòu.
    Although adoptive parents have no blood relationship, their bond is deep.

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
缘yuántie

血 (blood) and 缘 (tie) combine to mean a blood relationship.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 緣; 缘 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
彖
彖tuàn緣⁰yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 緣 puts 糸 (silk) beside 彖, which gives the sound; the simplified 缘 is a later abbreviation.

Open 缘 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Family & Kinship

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