腓

féi
noun #10,852

Meanings

  1. 1 calf of the leg

Examples

HSK 5
Pǎobù hòu wǒ de féi bù jīròu hěn suān.
My calf muscles are sore after running.
HSK 6
Féigǔ shì xiǎotuǐ wàicè de gǔtou.
The fibula is the bone on the outer side of the lower leg.

Tips

usage
腓 is mainly seen in compound words like 腓骨 (fibula), 腓肠肌 (calf muscle), and in the biblical place name 腓立比 (Philippi).

Components

radical
⺼ ròu
flesh; meat
⺼ is the meat-flesh radical (visually identical to 月 moon but historically a slab of meat with two ribs inside). It marks 腓 as a body-part word - the calf muscle, the fleshy bulge behind the shin. Family: 胸 (chest), 肝 (liver), 脚 (foot); read as flesh, never moon.
phonetic
非 fēi
not; non-
非 (fēi) supplies the sound - initial preserved, rime preserved, tone shifted to second (féi). Same phonetic powers 啡 (coffee), 扉 (door-leaf), 翡 (jade), 菲 (flourishing) - all riding the fēi/fěi family. Pure sound-marker; the not-imagery carries no semantic role in 腓 (calf muscle).

Stroke Order

腓 féi