The word 泪水 is a compound noun formed by combining two characters: 泪 (lèi), which means "tear" (as in the drop from crying), and 水 (shuǐ), which means "water". It is a semantic compound where the second character, 水, describes the nature or substance of the first, classifying 泪 as a type of liquid. Therefore, 泪水 literally translates to "tear-water", effectively meaning "teardrops", and emphasizes the watery, fluid quality of tears.