Definition
血本 literally means 'blood capital' — it refers to money that one has saved or worked extremely hard for, often all one's savings, and that one invests in a business or venture. The 'blood' emphasizes the sacrifice and risk involved. You'll see it in phrases like 血本无归 ('to lose everything one has invested') and 下血本 ('to invest heavily, putting all one's resources'). It's different from the neutral financial term 本金 (principal) because 血本 carries emotional weight about the effort behind the capital.
n.
hard-earned capitallife savings (esp. what one puts into a business or risky venture)
Examples
- 血本。Tā bǎ suǒyǒu xuè běn dōu tóu jìn le zhè jiā diàn.He put all his hard-earned capital into this shop.
- ，血本。Zhè cì shēngyi shībài, tā de xuè běn quán dōu kuī guāng le.This business failed, and he lost all his hard-earned capital.
- ，血本。Wèile zhège xiàngmù, wǒ zhǐhǎo xià xuè běn tóuzī.For this project, I had to dig deep into my savings and invest heavily.
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