洟

Nasal mucus or discharge. It belongs to a semantic cluster of facial secretions including 淚 (tears), 涕 (nasal discharge/weeping), and 涎 (saliva).

Primarily used as a noun, typically the object of verbs such as 流 (to flow) or 拭 (to wipe). It may occasionally function as a verb ("to snivel" or "to discharge mucus"), though this is often an elliptical construction.

While often interchangeable with 涕 in later texts, early or precise writing frequently distinguishes the two: 洟 tends toward the clinical or purely physical secretion, whereas 涕 often carries emotional or behavioral connotations associated with sobbing and grief.

In medical contexts (e.g., //Neijing//), the glyph serves as a diagnostic marker for internal imbalances; in these instances, "nasal discharge" is generally more appropriate than colloquial terms.