How to Write 泪 (lèi) — Meaning “Tear”

Picture a person whose eye (think of the dot on top of 戾) is leaking water (氵) because they are sad. You can imagine the shape of 戾 as a crooked body crying, with the three drops of water on the left emphasizing the flowing tears. This helps link the visual form to the meaning 'tear' or 'cry'.

Pay attention to the left side: 氵 must be written as three dots in a neat diagonal, not as a straight line. On the right side, 戾 has a 户 (door) radical on top and a 犬 (dog) below; make sure the 犬 does not touch the top part. A common mistake is making the right side too narrow or forgetting the dot inside 户, so keep proportions balanced.

泪 (lèi) means 'tear' and uses the water radical with 戾 on the right. 㳄 (xián) is an ancient character for 'saliva' or 'spit' and shows water (氵) combined with the component for 'to open the mouth' (欠). 汊 (chà) means 'branch of a river' and has the water radical with 叉 (chā, meaning 'fork'), indicating a forked stream. Visual clues: 泪 has a door-like top; 㳄 has 欠 (mouth open); 汊 has 叉 (like a cross).

泪 appears in common words like 眼泪 (yǎn lèi, tears) and 流泪 (liú lèi, to shed tears). It is used in both everyday speech and literature to express sadness, emotion, or even physical irritation. In Chinese culture, tears are often seen as natural expressions of deep feeling, and 泪 appears in idioms like 眼泪汪汪 (yǎn lèi wāng wāng, eyes brimming with tears).

Common words containing 泪 include: 眼泪 (yǎn lèi) — tears; 泪水 (lèi shuǐ) — Tears; 流泪 (liú lèi) — shed tears / cry.