肋

lèi
noun #10,295

Meanings

  1. 1 rib

Characters

Examples

HSK 4
Rén yǒu shí'èr duì lèigǔ.
Humans have twelve pairs of ribs.
HSK 7-9
Tā shuāidǎo hòu lèigǔ gǔzhé le.
He fractured a rib after he fell.

Tips

usage
肋 is a bound form, almost always appearing in 肋骨 (rib bone). Rarely used alone.

Components

radical
⺼ ròu
meat; flesh (radical form)
Left meat-flesh radical - visually identical to 月 moon, but a different component used for body parts. The side-form of 肉. Anchors 肋 in the anatomy family with 胸 chest, 背 back, 脏 organ, 腰 waist. The rib cage is the body part most directly named in this character.
phonetic
力 lì
strength; force
Right 力 supplies the sound - lì shifting to lèi via vowel alternation. 力 itself pictures a flexed arm or a plough handle, meaning 'strength.' Carries a faint semantic bonus here: ribs are the bony reinforcement that gives the chest its structural strength. Same phonetic in 仂, 阞.

Stroke Order

肋 lèi