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泪水 (lèi shuǐ) — tears; teardrops

Definition

泪 and 眼泪 are identical in meaning ('tears'); 泪水 is slightly more literary/written, with 水 reinforcing the 'fluid' image. Unlike 口水 (saliva), it specifically refers to tears from crying.

noun
tearsteardrops
Measure word · 滴

Examples

  • ，泪水。
    Kàn dào hái zi píng ān huí lái, mǔ qīn liú xià le lèi shuǐ.
    Seeing her child return safely, the mother shed tears.
  • 泪水，。
    Tā nǔ lì kòng zhì zhù lèi shuǐ, bú ràng bié rén kàn jiàn.
    He tried hard to hold back his tears so others wouldn't see.
  • ，泪水。
    Diàn yǐng tài gǎn rén le, wǒ bù zhī bù jué liú le lèi shuǐ.
    The movie was so touching that I unconsciously shed tears.

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.

泪lèitear
水shuǐwater

泪 names tears and 水 names water, so the image is tear water or tears.

Characters in this word

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 淚; 泪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
戾
戾lì淚lèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 淚 uses 水 (water) and 戾 for sound; this describes 淚, not 泪.

Open 泪 →

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Emotions & Feelings

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