肢 (zhī) · limb (of the body), extremity

Meanings

1 limb (of the body)
2 extremity

Characters

肢

zhī

limb / extremity

Examples

HSK 5

人体有四肢：两条胳膊和两条腿。

Réntǐ yǒu sìzhī: liǎng tiáo gēbo hé liǎng tiáo tuǐ.

The human body has four limbs: two arms and two legs.

HSK 6

他的上肢受伤了，无法抬起手臂。

Tā de shàngzhī shòushāng le, wúfǎ táiqǐ shǒubì.

His upper limb was injured and he couldn't lift his arm.

HSK 7-9

截肢手术在战争中很常见。

Jiézhī shǒushù zài zhànzhēng zhōng hěn chángjiàn.

Limb amputation surgery was common in wartime.

Tips

usage

肢 is a bound form - it rarely appears alone. Common compounds: 四肢 (four limbs), 上肢 (upper limbs / arms), 下肢 (lower limbs / legs), 肢体 (limbs and body), 截肢 (amputation).

Components

radical

⺼ ròu

meat; flesh (radical form)

Left meat-flesh radical (side-form of 肉, visually identical to 月 but a different semantic source) - the indexing radical. Marks 肢 as anatomical, putting it among 胸 chest, 肩 shoulder, 腰 waist, 腿 leg. The four 肢 are arms and legs - flesh extensions of the body.

phonetic

支 zhī

branch; to support

Right 支 supplies the sound zhī (exact match) and the meaning - 支 means 'branch, to prop up,' and a limb is exactly a branch extending from the trunk of the body. The pairing reads as 'flesh-branch.' Same phonetic family: 枝 tree branch, 技 skill, 歧 fork in road.