Body and Health

Understanding body parts and health-related characters is practical for everyday life, medical situations, and understanding how body-related radicals work throughout the Chinese writing system.

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Core Body Part Characters

Character	Pinyin	Meaning	Stroke Count	Example Word
手	shǒu	hand	4	手机 (shǒu jī) — mobile phone
头	tóu	head	5	头发 (tóu fa) — hair
心	xīn	heart	4	开心 (kāi xīn) — happy
目	mù	eye (literary)	5	目前 (mù qián) — currently
耳	ěr	ear	6	耳朵 (ěr duo) — ear
口	kǒu	mouth	3	门口 (mén kǒu) — entrance
鼻	bí	nose	14	鼻子 (bí zi) — nose
身	shēn	body	7	身体 (shēn tǐ) — body/health
体	tǐ	body/form	7	身体 (shēn tǐ) — body/health
足	zú	foot (literary)	7	足球 (zú qiú) — football
面	miàn	face/surface	9	面条 (miàn tiáo) — noodles
发	fà/fā	hair/emit	5	头发 (tóu fa) — hair
牙	yá	tooth	4	牙齿 (yá chǐ) — teeth

Memory Tip: 目 (eye) looks like an eye turned sideways. 口 (mouth) is a simple square opening. 耳 (ear) resembles the shape of an ear.

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More Body Vocabulary

Chinese	Pinyin	English	Character Analysis
眼睛	yǎn jīng	eye	Both characters have the 目 radical
嘴巴	zuǐ ba	mouth	嘴 has the 口 radical
脸	liǎn	face	Has the 月 (flesh) radical
脖子	bó zi	neck	Has the 月 (flesh) radical
肩膀	jiān bǎng	shoulder	Both have 月 (flesh) radical
胳膊	gē bo	arm	Both have 月 (flesh) radical
腿	tuǐ	leg	Has the 月 (flesh) radical
脚	jiǎo	foot	Has the 月 (flesh) radical
手指	shǒu zhǐ	finger	手 (hand) + 指 (point/finger)
肚子	dù zi	stomach/belly	Has the 月 (flesh) radical
背	bèi	back	—
腰	yāo	waist	Has the 月 (flesh) radical

Key Insight: The radical 月 on the left side of body-related characters actually comes from 肉 (ròu, "flesh/meat"), not 月 (yuè, "moon"). Over centuries, the flesh radical simplified to look identical to the moon radical. When you see 月 on the left side of a character, it usually means "body part."

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The Flesh Radical (月/肉) Characters

Character	Pinyin	Meaning	Radical Analysis
脸	liǎn	face	月 (flesh) + phonetic
腿	tuǐ	leg	月 (flesh) + phonetic
脚	jiǎo	foot	月 (flesh) + phonetic
肝	gān	liver	月 (flesh) + phonetic
肺	fèi	lung	月 (flesh) + phonetic
胃	wèi	stomach (organ)	月 (flesh) + 田
脑	nǎo	brain	月 (flesh) + phonetic
胖	pàng	fat	月 (flesh) + 半
瘦	shòu	thin	illness radical + phonetic