肥

Phono-semantic compound:

肉 (“flesh, body”) — semantic component.

巴 (bā) — phonetic component, giving early sound like bjə, leading to later pronunciations bí (Korean 비), féi (Mandarin)

Originally, it denoted plump flesh, then extended to meanings related to fertility, richness, or abundance.

Body & appearance:

비만 (肥滿) — obesity

비대 (肥大) — corpulence; enlargement

비후 (肥厚) — thickening (medical, physiological)

Agriculture / nature:

비료 (肥料) — fertilizer, manure

비옥 (肥沃) — fertile, rich (soil)

비전 (肥田) — fertile field

Figurative / idiomatic:

비장 (肥腸) — literal “fat intestines,” figurative for rich food

비익 (肥益) — to enrich, to benefit

In ancient contexts, 肥 could mean “to disregard lightly,” derived from “thin / insignificant.” This meaning mostly disappeared in modern Chinese but remains in classical literature.

The character 肥 forms a semantic cluster with 腫 (swollen), 胖 (fat), 朕 (swollen/royal), all under the 肉 radical.

Classical citations:

《廣雅·釋詁》 (Guangya)

「肥，腴也。」

“肥 means ‘rich, plump, well-nourished.’”

《詩經·周南·關雎》 (The Book of Songs)

「參差荇菜，左右流之，左右采之，左右芼之，左右芼之，左右肥之。」

“The uneven water plants—pluck them from both sides, choose them from both sides, wash them from both sides, and enrich them.”

Here 肥 means “to enrich / to make abundant.”

《孟子·梁惠王上》 (Mencius)

「牛羊肥。」

“The cattle and sheep are fat.”

《後漢書·梁鴻傳》 (Book of the Later Han Dynasty)

「不肥其家。」

“He did not enrich his household.”