狗血剧

狗血劇

gǒuxiějù

noun

Measure Word

一部狗血剧 bù

Meanings

1 melodramatic soap opera
2 cheesy over-the-top drama (with clichéd twists like amnesia, long-lost siblings, terminal illness)

Characters

Examples

这部狗血剧居然意外好看。

Zhè bù gǒuxiějù jūrán yìwài hǎokàn.

This trashy melodrama is surprisingly entertaining.

情节也太狗血了，车祸失忆一起来。

Qíngjié yě tài gǒuxiě le, chēhuò shīyì yìqǐ lái.

The plot is over the top — car crash and amnesia all at once.

Tips

register

狗血 literally 'dog blood,' from Cantonese cinema slang for supernatural/exorcism props (splashing dog blood to break evil spells), later broadened to any hackneyed plot device. 狗血剧 is mildly pejorative but also affectionate — viewers watch them on purpose.

mistakes

血 here is read xiě (colloquial), not xuè (formal). 狗血 is gǒuxiě, never gǒuxuè.

Stroke Order

狗 gǒu

血 xuè

剧 jù