肾 (shèn) · kidney

Measure Word

一个肾 gè

Meanings

1 kidney

Characters

肾

shèn

kidney

Examples

HSK 5

他的肾功能不太好。

Tā de shèn gōngnéng bútài hǎo.

His kidney function is not very good.

HSK 7-9

她需要做肾移植手术。

Tā xūyào zuò shèn yízhí shǒushù.

She needs a kidney transplant.

Tips

memory

The character contains 臣 (chén, minister) at the top and 肉 (ròu, flesh/meat) radical on the side - think of a minister's vital organ made of flesh.

Components

radical

⺼ ròu

flesh (radical form)

Bottom flesh radical, the indexing component (Kangxi 130). Marks 肾 as a body-part character, joining 肝 (liver), 胆 (gallbladder), 脾 (spleen), 肺 (lung). The kidney sits visually in the same anatomical row as those organs.

phonetic

又 yòu

right hand (with absorbed eye)

Top block is the simplified residue of 臤 (jiān): an eye 臣 above a hand 又. In the traditional 腎 the full eye-and-hand carried the sound; PRC simplification merged the 6-stroke 臣 into stylised marks beside 又, leaving 6 strokes here for what would be 2 standalone - historical fusion.