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热泪盈眶 (rè lèi yíng kuàng) — to have eyes brimming with tears of excitement or strong emotion; deeply moved

Definition

An idiom describing eyes welling up with tears from being deeply moved. Unlike 感慨, which names a feeling of emotional reflection, 热泪盈眶 pictures the visible physical result — tears filling the eyes.

phrase
to have eyes brimming with tears of excitement or strong emotiondeeply moved

Examples

  • ，热泪盈眶。
    Kàn dào shī sàn duō nián de qīn rén, tā bù jīn rè lèi yíng kuàng.
    Seeing her long-lost relative, she couldn't help but have tears of joy in her eyes.
  • ，热泪盈眶，。
    Huò jiǎng de nà yí kè, tā rè lèi yíng kuàng, shuō bù chū huà lái.
    At the moment of winning the award, he was so moved that tears welled up and he couldn't speak.
  • ，热泪盈眶。
    Bì yè diǎn lǐ shàng, gǎn rén de zhì cí ràng quán tǐ bì yè shēng rè lèi yíng kuàng.
    At the graduation ceremony, the touching speech brought tears to every graduate's eyes.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

热泪hot tears
热rèhot泪lèitears
偏正Modifier + head
盈眶fill eye sockets
盈yíngfill眶kuàngeye socket
动宾Verb + object

热泪 means 'hot tears', and 盈眶 means 'fill the eye sockets', giving the image of tears brimming with emotion.

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 熱; 热 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
灬Written in full as火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
埶
埶yì熱rè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 熱 pairs 埶 with 火 (written as 灬) to show heat, while 埶 gives a sound.

Open 热 →

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 夃夃gǔ
  • 皿皿mǐnvessel

盈 combines 夃 and 皿 (vessel), but the meaning of 夃 is unclear, so the full origin of the shape is uncertain.

Open 盈 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 眶 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & FeelingsIdioms & Set Phrases

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