血痕 (xuè hén) — bloodstain

Definition

noun
bloodstain
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 血痕。
    Tā de yī fu shàng yǒu xuè hén.
    There is a bloodstain on his clothes.
  • 血痕。
    Dì shàng de xuè hén yǐ jīng gān le.
    The bloodstain on the ground has already dried.
  • 血痕。
    Jǐng chá fā xiàn le qiáng shàng de xuè hén.
    The police found a bloodstain on the wall.

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.

血xuèblood
痕hénmark

血 names blood and 痕 names a mark, so the word means a mark left by blood.

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
疒疒nè
Sound part声符shēngfú
艮
艮gèn痕hén
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

痕 pairs 疒 with 艮: 疒 gives the sense, and 艮 gives the sound.

Open 痕 →

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