胀 (zhàng): to swell

Meanings

1 to swell
2 to expand
3 to be bloated

Characters

胀

zhàng

to swell; to expand

Examples

吃太多了，肚子胀得难受。

Chī tài duō le, dùzi zhàng de nánshòu.

I ate too much and my stomach is uncomfortably bloated.

木头泡水以后会发胀。

Mùtou pào shuǐ yǐhòu huì fā zhàng.

Wood swells after soaking in water.

Tips

usage

Common compounds: 膨胀 (péngzhàng, to expand/inflate), 肿胀 (zhǒngzhàng, swollen), 通货膨胀 (tōnghuò péngzhàng, inflation), 头昏脑胀 (tóuhūn nǎozhàng, dizzy and muddled).

memory

The 月 (flesh/body) radical on the left tells you this relates to the body — physical swelling.

Components

radical

⺼ ròu

meat; flesh (radical form)

Left meat-flesh radical (the side-form of 肉, visually identical to 月 moon but a different semantic source) — the indexing radical. Anchors 胀 firmly in the body/anatomy family with 肚 belly, 肠 intestine, 胃 stomach, 肿 swollen. The character names bodily swelling — bloating, distension — a sensation rooted in the flesh.

phonetic

长 zhǎng

to grow; long (here phonetic+semantic)

Right 长 supplies the sound, drifting from zhǎng to zhàng with a tone shift. It also doubles as a faint semantic hint: things grow longer and larger when swollen. 长 here uses the 'to grow' reading rather than the 'long' reading. Simplified from traditional 脹; modern 胀 keeps the same semantic structure compactly.