The Chinese Radical: 肉




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Meaning
body part    肉

Explanation This radical is on the left in compound words and is simplified as "月", which then looks like “moon, month 月”, but still has the meaning “body part”.

Used in these characters:
HSK 1
to have, there is, there are, to exist, to be
yǒu
Top left: hand /彐 (The fingers are left and at the right the forearm.), below: body 月/肉
I have a hand and a body: I'm existing!
HSK 1
talent, ability, capability
néng
Left: nose 厶, body 肉/月, right: claws 匕/匕
(In dog breeding:) Nose, body and claws prove talent.
HSK 1
moon, month
yuè
The radical 月 means moon or month. (The hanzi for meat/flesh 肉 as a radical is typically simplified to this 月)
Image of an ascending moon
HSK 1
clothes, dress, to take (medicine)

From left: body 月/肉, bent person 卩, hand 又
The (naked) body bends down with the hand for the clothes.
HSK 1
brain, mind, head, essence
nǎo
Left: bodypart 月/肉, right: "trash can" 㐫 (cover 亠 and fierce 凶 = container 凵 with dreadful 㐅 inside)
The body part 㐅 that is in a covered container is: the brain.
HSK 1
friends
péng
Twice body 月/肉
Both bodies next to each other are friends.
HSK 2
correct, right so, thus, like this, -ly
rán
Top: dog meat 肰 (body 月/肉, dog 犬), below: fire 灬 [犬 = The big 大 man holds in his arms: a dog 丶]
(Dog meat is often chewy) The meat of a dog must be correctly over the fire: so it will be right and correct, thus ...
HSK 2
meat, flesh
ròu
As a radical often simplified as: 月 - To show the difference to moon/month 月, the Hanzi-Trainer uses this radical 肉 when the meaning is: body or body-part.
Pictogram: Meat hanging down in a frame.
HSK 2
to expect, to hope, to visit, to gaze (into the distance)
wàng
Top: death 亡 (coffin in cross-section), body 月/肉, bottom: king 王
The dead body of the king goes with our expectations.
HSK 3
to give birth, to raise, to educate

Top: new born baby (character for child 子 turned upside down: the baby's head comes first), below: body 月/肉
The new born baby has a body, that is born and needs to be raised.
HSK 3
face, prestige
liǎn
Left: body part 月/肉, right: together 佥 (A person 人 as one 一 is with three ツ: together.)
The body part that is important when coming together, is the face.
HSK 3
foot, leg, base
jiǎo, jué
Left: body part 月/肉, right: retreat 却 (Leaving 去 in a bowed卩 position is a retreat.) [to leave 去 = Below ground 土 is the nose 厶 that has left.]
The body part for making a retreat [= the leaving in a bowed position] is: the foot.
HSK 3
leg, lower extremities
tuǐ
退
Left: body part 月/肉, right: retreat 退 (The movement 辶 is not good 艮 if it is a retreat.)
The part of the body that can be retreated is the leg.
HSK 3
bear, raging flames
xióng
Top: talent, ability 能 (nose 厶, body 月/肉 and claws 匕匕 prove talent.), bottom: four legs 灬
The 'talent' on four legs is the bear.
HSK 3
fat, plump
pàng
Left: body part 月/肉, right: half 半 (A knife cuts 丨 a birthday cake 二 with candles 丷 in half.)
If your body could be halved, you are too fat.
HSK 4
to agree, to consent, willing
kěn
Top: stop 止 (footprint of a right foot that stops at a line 一.), below: body 月/肉
(Consent of vegetarians:) The stop (from consumption) of meat meets our agreement.
HSK 4
strip off, to shed, get rid of, get away from
tuō
Left: body 月/肉, right: money transfer 兑 (Going out 丷 from my elder brother 兄 money transactions take place) [兄 = the big mouth 口 on feet儿]
(He raises his arms 丷 while stripping off his shirt. And I see:) the body of my older brother with raised arms, who is undressing.
HSK 4
eat, meal
cān
Top: 歺 (Variation of meat 月/肉 with a fork 卜), hand 又, bottom: food 食
Take the meat with the fork in your hand to eat it.
HSK 4
fat, fertile, loose-fitting or large, manure
féi
Left: body 月/肉, right: hope 巴 (Behind the doorknob 巴 you may hope.)
The body may hope, that it becomes fat and fertile.
HSK 4
dirty, filthy, viscera
zāng, zàng
Left: body 月/肉, right: farmstead 庄 (building 广 at the earth 土)
Your body at a farmstead gets: dirty.
HSK 4
skin

Left: body part 月/肉, right: husband 夫 (here: person 人 & two 二 for several layers)
The body part that a person has in several layers is: the skin.
HSK 4
stomach, abdomen, tripe, belly
dǔ, dù
Left: body part 月/肉, right: earth 土
The part of the body (or viscera), which (in cattle) is located at the bottom (= near the ground), is the stomach.
HSK 4
spleen

Left: body part 月/肉, right: vulgar/low 卑 (A such untidy field 田 is tenfold 十 vulgar)
The body part with the vulgar task (of immune defense) is the spleen.
HSK 4
shoulder, upper arm

Left: body part 月/肉, right: to announce 尃 (just now 甫 with skillful hand 寸) [A hand for holding an item 丶 is what I need 用 just now] cf. elbow 肘
The body part, that somehow looks like the upper body 甫 and where my 'skillful hand' 寸 is, is the shoulder.
HSK 4
armpit

Left: body part 月/肉, right: everybody 各 (Sitting cross-legged 夂 on a cushion 口 does everybody.)
A body's part that everyone has, or that is bent like sitting cross-legged 夂 with an opening 口 is the armpit.
HSK 4
cream, balm, ointment, paste
gāo
Top: high 高 (actually a guard tower, but here: a cover/lid 亠 and three layers 口,冖,口 of the skin), bottom: part of body 月/肉
It's a cover for the three layers of the body's skin: the cream or balm.
HSK 5
the gall (bladder), the nerve, courage, guts
dǎn
Left: body part 月/肉, right: sunrise 旦 (The sun 日 is just above the horizon 一)
([Medically not fully correct, but:] Gallstones can cause nausea after eating or in the morning:) The body part you feel (already) at sunrise is: the gall.
HSK 5
chest, thorax, bosom, heart, mind
xiōng
Left: body part 月/肉, right: Hungary 匈 (wrap 勹, bad luck/disaster 凶 [The cross 㐅 at the container 凵 shows that it is empty: what a bad luck!])
The body's part enwrapping a "void container" is the chest.
HSK 5
shoulder, to shoulder (responsibilities)
jiān
Top: door 戸 (sliding door with upper rail), below: body 月/肉
(As big as a) door is this part of the body: The shoulder.
HSK 5
waist, lower back, middle, loins
yāo
西
Left: body part 月/肉, right: need/request 要 (A handbag 覀/西 is, what women 女 need.) [west 西 = Under the horizon 一 the sun 日 sinks 儿 at the sunset in the west.]
(Asian women have less 'butt':) A body part of western 西 women is the waist.
HSK 5
victory, success, to beat, to defeat, to surpass
shèng, shēng
Left: body part 月/肉, right: life/birth 生 (The twig ノ at the growing plant stands for life)
If the body is full of life, it will succeed.
HSK 5
to threaten, to force, flank (the side of one's torso)
xié
Left: body part 月/肉, right: deal with/manage 办 (traditional 脅 = 3x force 力)
A body with triple force is threatening.
HSK 5
rotten, decay, corrosion, fermented

广
Top: seat of government 府 (The building 广 in which it is handed over 付 [to person 亻with skillful hands 寸], is the seat of the government.), below: meat, bodypart 肉
In the government is 'seated' meat that is rotten.
HSK 5
thigh, share, portion, electric currents

Left: body part 月/肉, right: 殳 (battle axe in a hand 又)
The part of the body which can serve as "weapon in a hand" is the thigh(-bone).
HSK 5
back, behind, hide, to carry on the shoulder
bēi, bèi
Top: north 北 (here: backbone || with ribs, or two persons sitting back to back), below: body part 月/肉
The backbone is the body part at the back and suitable to carry.
HSK 5
skeleton, bone

From top: bone (pictograph of a vertebra), cover 冖, body/flesh 月/肉
Bones are covered with flesh and form the skeleton.
HSK 5
intestines
cháng
Left: body part 月/肉, right: simplification of: easy 易 (= warming sun 日 with its shine 勿)
(If you put your hand into the abdomen of a fresh hunted animal) The body's part that is warm [= like warming sunshine] are the intestines.
HSK 5
flesh, muscle

Left: body part 月/肉, right: table 几 (cf. 凡)
The body part for the table is muscle's flesh.
HSK 5
shoulder, upper arm, swollen, urinary bladder
bǎng, pāng, páng
Left: body part 月/肉, right: one side, beside 旁 ([The servants] are in one direction 方 (side) of the emperor 帝: at his side.)
The part of the body that is at the body's side is: the shoulder.
HSK 5
stomach
wèi
Top: rice field 田, bottom: part of body 月/肉
It comes from the field and ends in this part of the body: The stomach.
HSK 5
fragile, crisp, crunchy, neat
cuì
Left: body part 月/肉, right: danger 危 (The bent person ⺈ on the cliff 厂 could fall to change into a slumped person 㔾: That's the danger!) [厄= unlucky]
Body parts (i.e. the bones) are in danger, when they are fragile.
HSK 5
beard, mustache, non-Han people, reckless

Left: old 古 (image of a tomb stone), right: flesh, body part 月/肉
Like old flesh are the beards of the non-Han people.
HSK 5
to glue, resin, sticky, rubber
jiāo
Left: body 月/肉, right: exchange, crossing 交 (six 六 crosses 㐅) (Glue was made of boiling bones)
This part of the body is "in exchange" when making glue.
HSK 5
neck, collar

Left: body part 月/肉, right: 孛 (from above: head 十, emphasized broad neck 冖, small rest 子 of the body)
The body part that is here emphasized is the neck.
HSK 5
to contribute, taxation, donation, to abandon
juān
Left: hand 扌/手, right: small worm 肙 (The head 口 is as big as the body 月/肉)
On the hand a small worm, which I contribute as taxation.
HSK 6
to swell, swelling, tumor
zhǒng
Left: body part 月/肉, right: center 中
At a body part it forms a 'middle': A swelling.
HSK 6
cavity of body, compartment, tune, melody, speak out
qiāng
Left:body part 月/肉, right: sky, empty 空 (... appears, where a hole 穴 is built 工 in.)
The body parts where sth. empty was built in, are the body's cavities.
HSK 6
membrane, film

Left: part of body 月/肉, right: negative 莫 - [Here: 艹 as 2x10 十 parts, 日 as image of a membrane and 大 as one big part]
The part of the body where there are 20 [small] parts on one side and one large part on the other, is: the membrane 日.
HSK 6
fetus, embryo, (air-)tire(=轮胎)
tāi
Left: (part of the) body 月/肉, right: platform 台 (The nose 厶 over the mouth 口 is like a platform.)
A body part serves a platform (= womb) for: the fetus.
HSK 6
similar, to resemble, to be like
xiào
Top: var. of small 小, below: body 月/肉
Small bodies are alike.
HSK 6
lungs
fèi
Left: body part 月/肉, right: simplification of city 市 (Better: shoulders 一, lungs/chest 冂 and middle of the body 丨)
The body part, with the lobes of the lung 冂 lateral to the middle 丨 of the body is: the lungs.
HSK 6
to swell, swollen, to be bloated
zhàng
Left: body part 月/肉, right: long 长/長 (Long mane in the wind of a galloping horse)
A body part that is elongated, is: swollen.
HSK 6
placenta, womb, born of the same parents
bāo
Left: body part 月/肉, right: wrap 包 (The wrap 勹 itself 己 makes it to be wrapped.)
The bodypart for "wrapping" is the placenta.
HSK 6
fat, rouge (cosmetics), resin
zhī
Left: meat/body 月/肉, right: order, purpose 旨 (If sb. is sitting 匕 in sun 日 he has the purpose [to indicate with the fingers 指])
Meat/Flesh has been 'ordered' to contain: fat.
HSK 6
stomach, abdomen, belly

Left: body part 月/肉, right: repeat, again 复 (Lying or sitting in sun 日 sitting cross-legged 夂 is to be repeated)
A body part that repeatingly [hurts] is the belly.
HSK 6
arteries and veins, (blood) vessels
mài
Left: body part 月/肉, right: forever 永 (I emphasize 丶 water 水 has been forever.)
The body part through which the emphasized 'water' flows are the: arteries and veins.
HSK 6
muscle, tendon
jīn
Top: bamboo 竹, below: ribs 肋 (= The body's part 月/肉 that resists with force 力 (against pressure) are the ribs.)
They are like bamboo('s fiber) are the body gets its strength by the: muscles and tendons.
HSK 6
knee

Learn this together with "lacquer/varnish" 漆 [qī] = "From the water/sap 氵of this tree 木 the person 人 makes drops 水 of: lacquer 漆"
(In former times they had wooden lacquered knee-protectors) The body part 月/肉 with the lacquer 漆 are the: knee.
HSK 6
limb
zhī
Left: body part 月/肉, right: twig / branch 支 (hand 又 that holds a twig 十)
The body's "branches" are the limbs.
HSK 6
swollen, to swell, inflated, expand
péng
Left: body('s part) 月/肉, right: drums 彭 (壴 [twig 十 over bean/drums 豆], right: hair 彡)
This body's part is big as 10 beans and hairy, and is: swelling.
HSK 6
arm

Top: anal penetration, torture 辟 (buttock from the side 尸, anus 口, needle 辛 as symbol for penetration or torture), bottom: body part 月/肉
You can penetrate into sth. with this body part: The arm.
HSK 6
fishy (smell)
xīng
Left: body part 月/肉, right: star 星 (Suns 日 with life 生 are the stars.)
If the body is already at the stars, it has a bad smell.
HSK 6
greasy, unctuous, intimate, tired of

Left: body part 月/肉, right: two (anti-fraud) 贰 (Two 二 sabers 弋 and the money 贝 become an anti-fraud two.)
For the body I received two sabers and money because it was so greasy.
HSK 6
chest (of body), hollow space
táng
Left: body part 月/肉, right: (main) hall 堂 (= A roof 宀 with reinforcements 丷 for a hall 口 on the ground 土)
The body part with a "hall" is the chest.
HSK 6
animal fat
fáng
Left: body part 月/肉, right: direction, side, square 方
The body is on its sides: fat.
HSK 6
laziness, lazy
duò
Left: feeling 忄, right: left 左, body 月/肉
(When you are a right-handed person:) I feel that my left body (= left half of the body) is lazy.
HSK 6
deli food, (meat or fish) dishes, mixed viands
yáo
Top: cross 㐅, below: have/exist 有 (I have hand and body 月, thus I am existing.)
I marked with the cross 㐅, which I want to have 有 from this deli food.
HSK 6
crippled, lame
qué
Outside: disease 疒 (An ice- 冫-cold building 广 makes sick.), inside: to add 加, body 肉
The disease that looks like "adding body/flesh" is to be: crippled.
no HSK
kidney
shèn
Top: (knife刂, hand 又), bottom: body part 月/肉
(It is located rather central in the body near the spine) A knife in a hand can cut out this body part: The kidney.
no HSK
liver
gān
Left: body part 月/肉, right: dry 干 (laundry rack)
(no fluid flows out) A body part that is relatively dry, is the liver.
no HSK
December, preserved (meat)

Left: body, meat 月/肉, right: former times 昔 (Together 共 in the sun 日 we think of former days)
When we eat the meat from former times (= sth. preserved), it is: December.
no HSK
spine, ridge, back

This character is seen as variation of back/stature: 背 with two persons 北 sitting back-to-back
'Back-to-back' the persons are sitting with this body part: The spine.
no HSK
to offer sacrifice

Top: part of body 月 (cf: meat 肉), hand , below: to show 示 (image of an altar with a sacrifice on it)
A body is laid by hand on the altar: as sacrifice.
no HSK
embryo, fetus
pēi
Left: body part 月/肉, right: great, grand 丕 (Between two 二 boundaries something small 小 can be: great.)
The body part that is small 小 within the womb 二 is: the embryo.
no HSK
gland
xiàn
Left: body part 月/肉, right: spring/fountain 泉 (... of white 白 water 水)
The body's "springs" are the glands.
no HSK
elbow, pork shoulder
zhǒu
Left: body part 月/肉, right: skillful hand 寸
The body part, which a 'skillful hand' needs: The elbow.
no HSK
chest, breast, dried meat, preserved fruit
fǔ, pú
Left: body part 月/肉, right: just now 甫 (A hand for holding an item 丶is what I need 用 just now) Here: 甫 as an image of a chest with shoulders 一 on top and ribs underneath.
The part of the body that looks like the chest.
no HSK
I, we (imperial use), subtle
zhèn
Left: body 月/肉, right: to close 关 (The mountain pass 丷 in the sky 天 is closed.)
A body from heaven: that's Us.
no HSK
cheek (esp. lower cheek), jaw, gills (of fish)
sāi
Left: body part 月/肉, right: to think 思 (... with your brain 田 and your heart 心)
The body part of "thinkers" is the lower cheek.
no HSK
dirty, filthy
āng
Left: body, meat 月/肉, right: overbearing 亢 (The sturdy navigator 亢 known from navigation 航 with a broad neck and wearing a cap.)
The body of the navigator is dirty.
no HSK
butt, buttocks
tún
Top: palace hall 殿 (Buttocks 尸 together 共 with the weapons in their hands 殳 are in the palace), bottom: body part 月/肉
The 'palace' among the body parts is the: buttocks.
no HSK
soap, pancreas

Left: body 月/肉, right: barbarians 夷 (= They have big 大 bows 弓)
The bodies of the barbarians should be soaped.
no HSK
nutrition, meals
shàn
Left: body part 月/肉, right: goodness, benevolent 善 (A sheep 羊 standing 立 with a gaping mouth 口 is good and benevolent)
For the body it is good: the nutrition.
no HSK
wrist
wàn
Left: bodypart 月/肉, right: as if 宛 (When I at home 宀 in the evening 夕 slump 㔾 (e.g. on the TV-coach) it's always just similar.)
The body part that (hurts), when I am in my home, at the evening (after work) and am slumped, is the: wrist.
no HSK
suckling pig
tún
Left: body 月/肉, right: pig 豕
The body of a pig is (initially) a suckling pig.
no HSK
rib
lèi
Left: body part 月/肉, right: power, force 力
(Otherwise the intestines would be very soft.) The body-part that resists with force (against pressure) are the ribs.
no HSK
pus, purulencem, pustule
nóng
Left: body part 月/肉, right: peasant 农 (He wears cover 冖 at the clothes 衣 [because he has to go out in any weathers])
(Due to heavy work:) The body part of the peasant is an abscess with pus.
no HSK
anus
gāng
Left: body part 月/肉, right: to work 工
The body part that needs to work is the: anus?
no HSK
amine
àn
Left: body part 月/肉, right: peaceful 安 (A woman 女 in the house 宀 makes it peaceful)
(The pungent ammonia smell soothes) The bodies that make it peaceful are the: amines.
no HSK
internal organs

Left: body('s parts) 月/肉, right: seat of government 府 (The building 广 in which it is handed over 付 [from a person 亻to a skillful hand 寸], is the seat of the government)
The body parts doing the 'government' are the internal organs.
no HSK
calf of leg, decay, protect
féi
Left: body part 月/肉, right: not, denial 非 (inverted wings 羽)
At the lower leg || (= tibia & fibula) it extends 三 (backwards), the: calf.
no HSK
armpit, axil (botany, angle between stem and branch)

Left: body part 月/肉, right: night 夜 (On the roof 亠 is a person 亻/人 watching the moon 月 during the night.)
The body part where it is 'night' is the armpit.
no HSK
all, together, mutually, assist, to store

Top: correct 正 (To stop 止 at the line 一 is correct), below: bodypart 月/肉
The correct bodies assist each-other mutually.
no HSK
to roast, BBQ, to broil, to toast
zhì
Top: meat 月/肉 lying flatly (as known for example from sacrifice 祭), below: fire 火
If the meat is over the fire, then it is roasted.
no HSK
feelings, opinion, thoughts, breast, bosom

Left: body part 月/肉, right: intention, thought, idea 意 (The sounds 音 of my heart 心 are my thoughts.)
The body part of my intentions is the breast where my feelings are.
no HSK
breast, receive
yīng
Top: variant of wild goose 雁 (On the cliff 厂 and (big as) a person 亻 is a bird 隹: the wild goose.), bottom: body part 月/肉
(Its breast is particularly rich in meat:) The wild goose has in particular this body part: the breast.
no HSK
navel

Left: body part 月/肉, right: be in the same level 齐 (A text 文 lays flatly on two vertical sticks 丿|, that are in the same level.)
The body's part that is always the same level (in the sense of center) is the navel.
no HSK
bladder (urinary bladder)
guāng
Left: body part 月/肉, right: light, ray 光 (fire 火 on legs 儿 serves as light.)
The body's part through which light can shine, is the bladder.
no HSK
to inherit, descendant, heir, posterity
yìn
Outside: channel |乚, middle: thread 纟/糸, bodypart, meat 月/肉
A channel for the thread of the own body (= bloodline), when: inheriting.

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