Phono-semantic compound:
肉 (육, “meat, flesh”) – indicates the meaning, something related to the body or an organ.
干 (간, “shield”) – provides the sound.

Over time, it also came to symbolize one’s innermost sincerity or loyalty, much like saying “from the heart.”

Characters

Words

Vocabulary

to fly, to turn over, to flip, to translate, to double

to think, to consider, to reflect

person, one who …

to endure, to bear, to withstand, to be resistant

holy, saint, sacred

to connect, link, join, unite, coupled, in association

sound, voice, music, song

duty, office, post, occupation

liver

limb, arm or leg

fat, suet, grease, fatty tissue

to raise, to nurture, to bring up, to foster

stomach

back (of the body), to turn one’s back, behind, to carry on the back, to recite, to memorize

womb, embryo, fetus

foreign tribes, careless, why, beard, surname Ho

to be able, to be capable, to have the ability

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Chinese character

Explore 214 Chinese radicals and their derived characters. Sort by radical or stroke count, and view the complete list of official Hanja radicals.

Chinese characters (Hanja)

Chinese characters dictionary

肝

Etymology

Usage in Korean

Words that derived from 肝

Neighboring characters in the dictionary

References