眼泪
yǎnlèi · HSK 4
tear
😢💧 眼泪 = 眼 (eye) + 泪 (tear)
Compound: 眼 yǎn means eye and 泪 lèi means tear. 泪 itself is 氵(water) + 目 (eye) — water from the eye. So 眼泪 literally stacks eye + tear to mean teardrops.
眼 — eye radical 目 + 艮 (phonetic)
眼 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 目 means 'eye' and gives the meaning, while 艮 on the right supplies the sound. Originally referring to the eyeball, it broadened over time to mean 'eye' generally and, by extension, 'a hole' or 'key point'.
泪 — water radical 氵 + eye 目
泪 is a semantic compound combining the water radical 氵 with 目 (eye), literally depicting water from the eye — tears. It is the modern simplified form of the older character 淚, which used 戾 as a phonetic component. The newer 泪 form is purely meaning-based and easier to remember.