月

It is a pictograph, a character created by depicting the shape of the moon.

The moon radical (月) is found in about 130 characters if one includes all forms that resemble 月, including the 육달월부. However, if only characters truly related to the moon/month are counted, the number drops to around 50 characters.

Meaning Differences:

1. Characters with 달월부 as a radical often relate to time or the moon.

2. Characters with 육달월부 usually relate to the human body (organs, flesh, etc.).

If 月 appears on the left or bottom of a character, it is usually the meat radical.

For example, in 服 (clothing), the 月 component on the left is actually a variant of 舟 (boat).

When 月 is in the right or upper-right side (like in 明 or 期), it is generally the moon radical.

A notable exception is 胡 (barbarian/ jaw flesh): although the 月 in 胡 is on the right and would normally indicate 달월부, in this case it is considered 육달월부 due to its meaning.

Characters like 朦 (dim) and 朧 (hazy) have 月 on the left, and 朗 (bright) is originally 朖, also with 月 on the left—showing that the moon radical does appear on the left in some cases.

It resembles two other components: ⺝ (⺼) and 冃, but these are separate radicals and should not be confused with the moon radical.

⺼ is the variant form of the meat radical (肉).

冃 is the variant form of the “head covering” radical (冃).

Notably, in Taiwan, the ⺼ radical has a distinct shape from 月, but in Korea, Japan, and mainland China, ⺼ and 月 are rendered identically. To distinguish between them, the term “육달월부” (lit. “meat-moon radical”) is used for the meat radical disguised as 月.