血泪 (xuè lèi) — blood and tears; extreme suffering or hardship (often in a historical or personal context)

Definition

A literary compound meaning 'blood and tears' — extreme suffering paid for a cause, used in historical or solemn writing rather than everyday speech. Most often appears in fixed phrases like 血泪史.

noun
blood and tearsextreme suffering or hardship (often in a historical or personal context)

Examples

  • 血泪。
    Zhè bù zuò pǐn jì lù le nà ge shí dài rén mín de xuè lèi shǐ.
    This work records the history of blood and tears of the people of that era.
  • 血泪。
    Měi yì chǎng shèng lì bèi hòu dōu yǒu wú shù de xuè lèi yǔ xī shēng.
    Behind every victory there is countless blood, tears, and sacrifice.
  • 。
    Tā men yòng xuè lèi huàn lái jīn tiān de hé píng.
    They traded blood and tears for today's peace.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

血xuèblood
泪lèitears

“血” and “泪” are paired substances of suffering, together mean blood and tears.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 →

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