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淤血 (yū xuè) — (TCM) blood stasis; extravasated blood; bruise (colloquial)

Definition

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), 淤血 is the concept of stagnant, pooled blood blocking circulation. In everyday talk it just means a bruise from an injury.

noun
(TCM) blood stasisextravasated bloodbruise (colloquial)
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 淤血，。
    Tā tuǐ shàng yǒu yí dà kuài yū xuè, shì zuó tiān shuāi de.
    He has a big bruise on his leg from falling yesterday.
  • ，淤血。
    Zhōng yī rèn wéi, yū xuè zǔ zhì jīng luò huì dǎo zhì téng tòng.
    TCM believes that blood stasis blocking the meridians can cause pain.
  • 淤血。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì tā yòng huó xuè huà yū de yào lái xiāo chú yū xuè.
    The doctor advised him to use medicine that promotes blood flow and removes stasis to eliminate the bruise.

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.

淤yūstagnant
血xuèblood

淤 means stagnant or blocked, and 血 means blood, together naming stagnant blood or a bruise.

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
於
於wū淤yū
Same sound today

淤 pairs 氵, a form of 水 meaning water, with 於, which supplies the sound.

Open 淤 →

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 →
Appears in
Illness & SymptomsTraditional Medicine & Philosophy

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