血流 (xuè liú) — blood flow, bloodstream

Definition

noun
blood flowbloodstream

Examples

  • 血流。
    Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā de xuè liú qíng kuàng.
    The doctor checked his blood flow condition.
  • 血流。
    Yùn dòng kě yǐ cù jìn xuè liú xún huán.
    Exercise can promote blood circulation.
  • 血流，。
    Rú guǒ xuè liú shòu zǔ, qì guān jiù kě néng shòu sǔn.
    If blood flow is blocked, organs can be damaged.

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.

血xuèblood
流liúflow

血流 pictures 血 'blood' moving in a 流 'flow'.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
㐬
㐬㐬流liú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

流 has 水, water, and 㐬, which gives the sound. The water part matches meanings such as flow.

Open 流 →
Appears in
Organs & Anatomy

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