Meat radical

It often points to flesh, organs or the body. For example, 肝 means “liver” and 肺 means “lung”: their left-hand component comes from 肉, “meat” or “flesh.” This is a clue to meaning, not a word to read separately or a guarantee of a character’s meaning. A radical is a component under which dictionaries group characters.

⺼ represents that component on its own for explanation and lookup. In ordinary writing, use the complete character you need; for meat or flesh, that is 肉. 肉 can also refer to fruit flesh. Its early forms in oracle-bone inscriptions—writing carved on animal bones and turtle shells—depicted a piece of flesh.

Is it the same as 月?

No. The meat component and the moon character have different origins. Their shapes converged, so a part that looks like 月 does not always mean “moon.” In Japanese, the meat component on the left is called nikuzuki.

Taiwan and Hong Kong writing conventions distinguish the meat component through its inner strokes, as documented in 2024. Fonts and regional styles can make the distinction less visible. ⺼ and 月 remain different text characters: substituting one for the other can change search results. Use 月 for “moon” or “month,” and ⺼ when you specifically need the radical symbol.