Meaning of 眼泪
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- tear; teardrop
Measure word: 滴
How to use 眼泪
眼泪 is the everyday word for tears and is often used with verbs like 流 (liú, to flow) or 擦 (cā, to wipe). Example: 她流下了眼泪。(Tā liú xià le yǎnlèi.) She shed tears. 泪水 (lèishuǐ) means the same thing but sounds more written or literary.
眼 (yǎn) means eye, and 泪 (lèi) has the water radical 氵 next to 目, the eye. Water coming from the eye is a tear.
Common mistake: Learners often write 泪 with 日 instead of 目 on the right. Remember it is the eye 目, the same part found on the left of 眼. Also keep the fourth tone on lèi and do not say lěi.
眼泪 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
眼 yǎn · eye · 11 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
泪 lèi · tears · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 眼泪.
| 眼睛 | yǎnjing | eye |
| 眼前 | yǎnqián | before one's eyes; now |
| 眼镜 | yǎnjìng | spectacles; eyeglasses |
| 眼里 | yǎnli | |
| 泪水 | lèishuǐ | teardrop; tears |
| 眼光 | yǎnguāng | gaze; insight |
| 眼看 | yǎnkàn | soon; in a moment |
| 亲眼 | qīnyǎn | with one's own eyes; personally |
| 眼神 | yǎnshén | expression or emotion showing in one's eyes; meaningful glance |
| 一眼 | yīyǎn | a glance; a quick look |
| 眼下 | yǎnxià | now; at present; (anatomy) subocular |
| 眨眼 | zhǎyǎn | to blink; to wink |
Questions about 眼泪
What does 眼泪 mean?
眼泪 (yǎnlèi) means "tear; teardrop" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 眼泪?
眼泪 is made of 2 characters: 眼 (11 strokes), 泪 (8 strokes). That is 19 strokes in total.
Is 眼泪 an HSK word?
Yes. 眼泪 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 眼泪 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 眼泪 is written 眼淚.
How do you say 'to cry' using 眼泪?
You can say 流眼泪 (liú yǎnlèi), to shed tears, which is a bit softer than 哭 (kū), to cry. For holding back tears, say 忍住眼泪 (rěn zhù yǎnlèi).
Can 眼泪 be counted, like 'one tear'?
Yes. Use the measure word 滴 (dī) for drops: 一滴眼泪 (yì dī yǎnlèi), one teardrop. Without a measure word, 眼泪 usually just means tears in general.