狗血

gǒuxiě

adjective

Meanings

1 melodramatic (of a plot)
2 contrived; over the top
3 dog's blood

Characters

Examples

HSK 7-9

这部电视剧的剧情很狗血，可是我还是每集都看。

Zhè bù diànshìjù de jùqíng hěn gǒuxiě, kěshì wǒ háishi měi jí dōu kàn.

This TV drama's plot is totally over the top, but I still watch every episode.

HSK 7-9

失忆、车祸、绝症，这些狗血情节观众早就看腻了。

Shīyì, chēhuò, juézhèng, zhèxiē gǒuxiě qíngjié guānzhòng zǎojiù kànnì le.

Amnesia, car crashes, terminal illness: audiences got tired of these melodramatic plot twists long ago.

Tips

history

狗血 is literally 'dog's blood', which folk belief held could break a spell. 洒狗血 'to splash dog's blood' became old theatre slang for overacting to win cheap applause, and today 狗血 is any cheap, overused plot device. The literal sense lives on in 狗血喷头 'to curse someone roundly'.

mistakes

血 is read xiě here, the colloquial reading, not xuè: 狗血, 狗血剧.

Stroke Order

狗 gǒu

血 xuè