腓 meaning and stroke order
Leg, calf; to wither, to decay
How to write 腓, 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.
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- 12
Meaning of 腓
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- calf of leg
- decay
- protect
How 腓 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Flesh.
⺼ gives the meaning and 非 hints at the sound.
Radical: ⺼ (meat), shared by 176 characters on this site.
How to remember 腓
The flesh radical ⺼ on the left tells you this is a body part, and 非 (fēi) on the right gives the sound. Picture the fleshy calf at the back of your leg, the part that is not (非) the shin bone.
Today 腓 (féi) mostly appears in anatomy and medical words rather than everyday speech. The most common word is 腓骨 (féigǔ), the fibula, the thin bone of the lower leg. Example: 他的腓骨骨折了。(Tā de féigǔ gǔzhé le.) His fibula is broken.
Common mistake: Learners often read 腓 as fēi with a first tone because of 非, but it is second tone, féi, like 肥 (féi, fat). Also do not confuse it with 啡 (fēi) in 咖啡 (kāfēi, coffee), which has the mouth radical 口 instead of flesh.
Questions about 腓
How many strokes are in 腓?
腓 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 腓 mean?
腓 (féi) means leg, calf; to wither, to decay.
How do you pronounce 腓?
腓 is pronounced féi, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 腓?
The radical of 腓 is ⺼, which carries the idea of "meat". Dictionaries list 腓 under this radical.
What is the everyday word for the calf of the leg?
In daily speech people say 小腿 (xiǎotuǐ) for the lower leg, or 腿肚子 (tuǐdùzi) for the calf muscle. The anatomical term for the calf muscle is 腓肠肌 (féichángjī).
Why does 腓 appear in the word for the Philippines?
It is used for its sound. 菲律宾 (Fēilǜbīn) is the standard spelling, but 腓 shows up in some older transliterations of foreign names, such as 腓尼基 (Féiníjī), Phoenicia.