肢 meaning and stroke order
Limbs
How to write 肢, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 肢
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- limb
How 肢 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Flesh.
⺼ gives the meaning and 支 hints at the sound.
Radical: ⺼ (meat), shared by 176 characters on this site.
How to remember 肢
The left side ⺼ means flesh or body, and 支 (zhī) gives the sound. Picture the body's flesh branching out like 支, the parts that stick out from your trunk: your arms and legs.
肢 (zhī) is almost never used alone. It appears in words like 四肢 (sìzhī, the four limbs), 肢体 (zhītǐ, limbs or body), and medical terms such as 截肢 (jiézhī, amputation). Example: 他四肢无力。(Tā sìzhī wúlì.) His arms and legs feel weak.
Common mistake: Learners often write 枝 (zhī, branch) instead of 肢 because they share 支 and the same sound. Remember that 枝 with 木 (wood) is for trees, and 肢 with ⺼ (flesh) is for the body.
Common words with 肢
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 肢体 | zhītǐ | limb; limbs and trunk | HSK 7-9 |
| 四肢 | sìzhī | the four limbs of the body | |
| 截肢 | jiézhī | amputation (medicine); to amputate | |
| 肢解 | zhījiě | to dismember; (fig.) to break into parts | |
| 假肢 | jiǎzhī | artificial limb; prosthetic limb |
Questions about 肢
How many strokes are in 肢?
肢 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 肢 mean?
肢 (zhī) means limbs. A common word with it is 肢体 (zhītǐ), meaning "limb; limbs and trunk".
How do you pronounce 肢?
肢 is pronounced zhī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 肢?
The radical of 肢 is ⺼, which carries the idea of "meat". Dictionaries list 肢 under this radical.
Is 肢 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 肢 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 肢体语言 mean?
肢体语言 (zhītǐ yǔyán) means body language. It is a common everyday phrase built on 肢体 (zhītǐ), the body and limbs.
Is ⺼ in 肢 the same as 月 (moon)?
It looks like 月, but on the left side of body-related characters it is the flesh component. You see it in characters like 肚 (dù, belly) and 腿 (tuǐ, leg), which helps you guess that 肢 is a body part.