浴血 (yù xuè) — to fight fiercely in a bloody battle, to make a blood‑soaked struggle

Definition

A literary/modifier-like verb meaning 'bathed in blood' — describes fighting so fierce that combatants are soaked in blood. Used almost only in set phrases like 浴血奋战 and 浴血战斗.

verb
to fight fiercely in a bloody battle, to make a blood‑soaked struggle

Examples

  • 。
    Tā men zài zhàn chǎng shàng yù xuè fèn zhàn le sān tiān sān yè.
    They fought fiercely on the battlefield for three days and nights.
  • 浴血。
    Zhè cì xíng dòng shì yí cì yù xuè de zhàn dòu.
    This operation was a blood‑soaked battle.
  • 。
    Tā céng zài zhàn zhēng zhōng yù guò yí cì xuè.
    He once experienced a bloody fight in the war.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

浴yùbathe
血xuèblood

浴 means bathe and 血 means blood, so 浴血 describes fighting as if bathed in blood.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
谷
谷gǔ浴yù
Same sound today

浴 shows 氵 (water) beside 谷, which gives the sound, for bathing in water.

Open 浴 →

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 →

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