血 (xiě) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

血

xiě[xie3]Tone 3

blood

HSK 3

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · blood

Cached lesson

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Topology:Single character

Strokes:6

Writing Balance Rule: Center the vertical hook stroke and ensure the container shell hugs the inner drop and horizontal elements neatly without sagging.

1. Meaning

blood

vitalitylineageemotional intensity

NounNeutral#anatomy#body#biology

Sample Usage

流血
liú xiě
to bleed
血管
xiè guǎn
blood vessel

2. Sound

/[ɕi̯e̠²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

血

xiěxie3

ˇ(214)

=xiě

Initial Consonant

Type: Alveolo-Palatal Fricative

Sounds like: sh sound produced with the tongue blade near the front roof of the mouth

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Hissing friction with lips stretched wide in a smile.

Tongue & Mouth Position: The tip of the tongue rests behind the lower front teeth while the blade rises close to the hard palate.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: -ie rhymes with 'yeh' in yes

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'yeh'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 starts mid-high, dips low into the register, and rises back up, similar to saying 'What?' in English when asking for repetition.

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, it shifts to a 2nd tone (rising 35).

👂

Listening trap: Often confused with xùe or xǔe due to rapid colloquial merging, but the standard reading in spoken Mandarin for standalone use is xiě.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down from your chest to your stomach, then rise back up to shoulder height.

3. Writing

Topology: Single character · Strokes: 6 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Center the vertical hook stroke and ensure the container shell hugs the inner drop and horizontal elements neatly without sagging.

4. Components

Radical 血 · Blood Radical (blood, life fluid)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 皿 (represents a sacrificial vessel or dish holding the fluid)

An ancient sacrificial dish (皿) with a single drop or pool of vital blood (丶) placed right inside the basin.

皿 dish or container
丶 drop of liquid

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

4· Phonetic Root: 血 (xiě)

5. History

Liushu category: Indicative (指事)

Origin: Oracle bone scripts depict a sacrificial vessel (皿) with a dot inside representing animal or ritual blood spilled or contained during a ceremony.

Semantic Evolution: Originally denoting sacrificial blood in ancient rituals, the meaning broadened to physical blood in living creatures, and further to lineage, passion, and vitality.

In ancient times, oaths of allegiance were sealed by drinking animal blood mixed into a vessel.
The character acts as both a standalone word and a primary radical for bodily fluids and circulation.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ケツ (ketsu) / Kun: ち (chi)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

혈

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a sacred ritual bowl (皿) sitting on an altar, and right in the center, a bright droplet of fresh red blood (丶) has just dripped inside.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

皿(mǐn)

皿 is just the empty dish without the single blood drop (丶) at the top.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

受伤后，他的伤口流出了很多[___]。

Clue: xiě

Common Learner Pitfall

Forgetting the internal drop stroke or placing the dot outside the vessel box during handwriting.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 血 mean, and how is it pronounced with tone?

Production: How do you write the character for 'blood' using the container vessel component and a drop?

血xiěblood

Speed:

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