Definition
眼泪 (yǎn lèi) is the standard everyday word for 'tears' in spoken Chinese. 泪 (lèi) is a more literary single-character form, commonly found in idioms and compound words, while 泪水 (lèi shuǐ) is a slightly more formal or poetic synonym. When talking about tears in daily life, 眼泪 is the natural choice.
noun
tears
Measure word · 滴
Examples
- 眼泪。Tā liú le yì dī yǎn lèi.She shed a tear.
- 眼泪，。Tā cā gān le yǎn lèi, jìxù gōngzuò.He dried his tears and continued working.
- 眼泪。Tā de yǎn lèi bù tíng de wǎng xià liú.His tears kept flowing down.
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