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心血來潮

简心血来潮 · 繁心血來潮

Mandarin · pinyin xīn xuè lái cháo

to be prompted by a sudden impulse
carried away by a whim
to have a brainstorm

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Characters in this entry

心: xīn · heart; mind, intelligence; soul; 5th lunar mansion, determinative star α Scorpii (Antares)
血: xuè · blood; Kangxi radical 143
來: lái · come, coming; return, returning
潮: cháo · tide; moist, wet, damp; flow
来: lái · come, coming; return, returning

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–4–2–2 · xin1 xue4 lai2 chao2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

心血來潮 · find source passages ↗ · 心血来潮 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

sam1 hyut3 loi4 ciu4

Cantonese word readings for 心血來潮. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to be carried away by impulse; to do something on a whim

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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