noun HSK 7-9 #21,932

Meanings

  1. 1 spleen
  2. 2 temperament; disposition

Examples

Tā píqi hěn dà.
He has a big temper.
Bié fāpíqi.
Don't lose your temper.

Tips

usage
脾气 (temper/temperament) is far more common than the medical meaning.

Components

radical
ròu
flesh; meat (radical form of 肉)
Left flesh radical — the meat-form of , visually identical to (moon) but distinct in meaning. Anchors in the body-organ family: (liver), (lung), (kidney), (stomach), (gallbladder). The radical states 'this is a fleshy internal organ'. The spleen sits firmly in the catalogue of bodily organs that take the meat-radical prefix.
phonetic
bēi
lowly; humble (here phonetic)
Right supplies the sound — bēi shifted to pí, regular b/p labial alternation. originally pictured a hand holding a ladle, a marker of a low servant's role; that meaning doesn't carry. Same phonetic family: (beer), (slave-girl), (sign/plaque), (stele). Common compound 脾气 (pí qì, temperament) reflects the classical theory of the spleen as the seat of mood and disposition.

Stroke Order