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

HSK 5

这部狗血剧居然意外好看。

Zhè bù gǒuxiějù jūrán yìwài hǎokàn.

This trashy melodrama is surprisingly entertaining.

HSK 7-9

车祸加失忆，这是典型的狗血剧。

Chēhuò jiā shīyì, zhè shì diǎnxíng de gǒuxiějù.

A car crash plus amnesia: that's a classic soap opera.

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