血ちのにじむよう

Meanings

painstaking; excruciating; grueling

Idiomatic expression describing effort or hard work so intense it feels as if blood is oozing out. Often used with nouns like 努力 (effort) or 練習 (practice).

彼かれの血ちのにじむような努ど力りょくが実みを結むすんだ。
His painstaking efforts bore fruit.
血ちのにじむような練れん習しゅうを経へて、彼かの女じょは優ゆう勝しょうした。
After grueling practice, she won the championship.

See all 4 example sentences ›

Kanji

血blood
滲imbued with

Related words

骨ほね身みを削けずる
Also means to work extremely hard, but literally 'shaving one's bones and flesh', emphasizing sacrifice and physical toll. 血のにじむよう focuses on the excruciating, blood-like intensity of the effort.
必ひっ死し
Means 'desperate' or 'frantic', often used for life-or-death effort. 血のにじむよう is more about sustained, painful hard work rather than desperation.

Written forms

血ちのにじむよう
Standard kanji-kana mixed spelling for this idiomatic expression.
血ちの滲にじむよう
Uses the kanji 滲 for 'ooze/seep', which is less common but still seen.

Etymology

Literally 'as if blood oozes', a figurative expression likening extreme effort to the sensation of bleeding. The exact origin is uncertain, but it is a natural metaphor in Japanese for intense, painful exertion.