Sections
Chi (血): what it means in anime
血
ち · chi · blood; ancestry; lineage JLPT N4
Chi means "blood". It is short, so it is easy to miss in speech, but battle and horror anime say it constantly: 血が出てる ("you're bleeding"), 血の匂い ("the smell of blood").
Where you hear it 2 of 42 series
Lines from the Japanese subtitles of episodes 1–3 of each show. A translation is shown only when it clearly matches the line; counts are subtitle lines containing the word.
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Chainsaw Man · 26 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
かめ! 悪魔は 血ぃ飲めばI've heard that devils can heal by drinking blood.
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Demon Slayer · 9 lines in episodes 1–3 · this one from episode 1
口や手に 血は付いていなかったand there was no blood on her mouth or hands.
Usage and nuance
In Demon Slayer the demons' blood arts are 血鬼術 (kekkijutsu), and the kanji is read けつ (ketsu) there. On its own, as in 血が出る, it is always ち.
Figurative uses: 血のつながり is a blood relation, 血が騒ぐ ("my blood is stirring") is excitement before a fight, 血も涙もない ("no blood, no tears") describes someone heartless.
Chainsaw Man's Power is a 血の悪魔, the Blood Devil, which is why the word is in her introduction.
Hear 血 in Chainsaw Man26 lines in episodes 1–3 · tappable subtitles · free, no account