脾 meaning and stroke order
Spleen
How to write 脾, stroke by stroke
12 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
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
Meaning of 脾
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- spleen
How 脾 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Flesh.
⺼ gives the meaning and 卑 hints at the sound.
Radical: ⺼ (meat), shared by 176 characters on this site.
How to remember 脾
脾 is pictophonetic: the flesh radical ⺼ marks a body part, and 卑 (bēi) gives the sound. Picture a humble (卑) little organ tucked inside the body: the spleen.
On its own 脾 means the spleen, as in 脾脏 (pízàng). In everyday speech it almost always appears in 脾气 (píqi), meaning temperament or a bad temper. Example: 他今天又发脾气了。(Tā jīntiān yòu fā píqi le.) He lost his temper again today.
Common mistake: Learners often write 啤 (pí, as in 啤酒 beer) instead of 脾, since both share 卑 and the same sound. Remember: the body part takes the flesh radical ⺼, and the drink takes the mouth radical 口.
Common words with 脾
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
脾 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 脾
How many strokes are in 脾?
脾 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 脾 mean?
脾 (pí) means spleen. A common word with it is 脾气 (píqi), meaning "character; temperament; disposition; bad temper".
How do you pronounce 脾?
脾 is pronounced pí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 脾?
The radical of 脾 is ⺼, which carries the idea of "meat". Dictionaries list 脾 under this radical.
Is 脾 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 脾 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 脾气 always mean a bad temper?
No. 脾气 can simply mean someone's temperament, as in 脾气很好 (píqi hěn hǎo), good-natured. Without a modifier, as in 他有脾气 (tā yǒu píqi), it usually suggests he has a temper.
Why is the spleen linked to temper in Chinese?
Traditional Chinese medicine connects internal organs with emotions and character, so words for organs came to describe disposition. A similar pattern appears in 胆子 (dǎnzi), courage, which literally refers to the gallbladder.