月 meat, flesh

にくづき nikuzuki

4 strokesRadical of 48 kanjiPart of 64

Your ink in 月0% painted · 0 of 48 familiar

Origin · sourced

Pictogram象形

Ribs of an animal’s torso or simply a physical representation of a slice of meat. Stylized into 月 when next to a phonetic component and 𱼀 and/or 夕 inside some characters.

Source: Wiktionary, 肉 (rev. 93434345), the entry for the full form, CC BY-SA 4.0

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“It looks like the moon, but it's actually muscle! When you see this "moon" on the left side of a character, don't think of the night sky—think of your own body. It is the radical of organs, limbs, and physical life. From your heart to your skin, nikuzuki is the building block of the human anatomy in the world of kanji.”

Where it sits in a kanji

Indicates parts of the human body, internal organs, physical conditions, or aspects of biological life and health.

Start with能 Study all 48Print sheet

育つ

What it grows into

Built from 月, with sourced origins

能abilityノウ · よく
月 becomes 能
A bear. In the character, two paws are visible as a pair of 匕 and the face with the open mouth is stylized as 月.
Pictogram · Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
肩shoulderケン · かた
月 becomes 肩
The component 戶 (representing the shape of a shoulder) is combined with 月 (the radical of 肉, meaning "flesh" or "meat") to convey the meaning of "shoulder.".
Pictogram · Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
臓entrailsゾウ · はらわた
月 + 藏sound
Phono-semantic compound · Wiktionary, 臟, CC BY-SA 4.0

一覧

Every kanji with 月 as its radical

Most used first

Start with能 All 48