流血
liúxiě · HSK 7
shed blood
🩸 流血 = 流 flow + 血 blood — blood that flows out
流 means flow or stream; 血 means blood. Put them together and you get blood flowing out of the body: to bleed or shed blood. The character 血 is a bowl 皿 with a drop on top, marking sacrificial blood.
流 — water radical 氵 + 㐬 (phonetic, child being born)
流 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The water radical 氵 gives the meaning, while 㐬 depicts an infant being born head-down with amniotic fluid, suggesting downward flow. Together they convey water flowing, and by extension 'to flow' or 'current'.
血 — drop 丿 over dish 皿
Originally a pictograph of a sacrificial vessel (皿) with a drop of blood inside, marking the offering of blood in ancient rituals. The small stroke on top represents the blood itself. Over time it broadened from ritual blood to blood in general.