流血 (liú xuè) — to bleed, to shed blood | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

流血 is 'to bleed / shed blood' — specifically about blood, not just any liquid (unlike 流 or 流淌). 淌 is used more for tears and water dripping; 流血 pairs with 止血 ('stop bleeding') and wounds.

verb

to bleedto shed blood

Examples

，流血。
Tā qiē cài shí bù xiǎo xīn, shǒu zhǐ liú xuè le.
He accidentally cut his finger while chopping vegetables and it bled.
流血。
Tā wèi le bǎo hù jiā rén gān yuàn liú xuè.
He was willing to shed blood to protect his family.
流血，。
Yī shēng shuō shāng kǒu hái zài liú xuè, xū yào mǎ shàng zhǐ xuè.
The doctor said the wound is still bleeding and needs to be stopped immediately.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

"流" and "血" combine to describe blood flowing out.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

㐬

㐬㐬流liú

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

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Illness & Symptoms 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.