Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (flesh) is compressed and slightly narrower to leave ample room for the right component (table/self), keeping the entire character well-balanced on the imaginary grid center.
1. Meaning
muscle
fleshskin tissue
NounNeutralBound morpheme#anatomy#biology#human body
Sample Usage
肌肉
jīròu
muscle
心肌
xīnjī
cardiac muscle
2. Sound
/[t͡ɕi⁵⁵]/Tone: 55
肌
jīji1
|
++
¯(55)
=jī
Initial Consonant
j
Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal
Sounds like: j sound as in jeep
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue approaches the hard palate while the tip touches behind the lower teeth.
Final Rhyme
i
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: -ee rhyme as in see
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ee'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T1 (55)
5 → 5 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, level pitch held constant, similar to a musical note sustained at the top of your speaking range.
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse with retroflex initials or 3rd tone glides; this is a crisp, high-pitched flat vowel.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Keep your hand flat and high in the air, moving in a steady horizontal line from left to right to represent the high level pitch.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 6 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (flesh) is compressed and slightly narrower to leave ample room for the right component (table/self), keeping the entire character well-balanced on the imaginary grid center.
4. Components
Radical月 · Meat radical (flesh or body part)
Semantic Clue (形旁):月 (Indicates body parts, flesh, and tissue)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):几 (original sound: ji)
The flesh radical (月, written as ⺼) on the left pairs with the phonetic component 几 (jǐ) on the right to represent the fibrous flesh of the body: muscle.
⺼ Flesh or body part
几 Phonetic clue providing the 'ji' sound
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
13· Phonetic Root: 几 (jī)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally combined the flesh/body radical (月) with the phonetic element 几 to denote body tissue and muscle structure.
Semantic Evolution: From general flesh and body tissue in classical texts to specific modern anatomical uses referring to muscles.
The meat radical in characters like 肌 is written as ⺼ with two vertical strokes inside, distinguishing it from the standalone moon character.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
cơ
Mandarin high level tone corresponds to Vietnamese ngang tone.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: キ
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
근
Sound Shift Bridge: Mandarin initial j often corresponds to historical palatalized velars or dental affricates in cognate systems.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
Imagine your body's flesh (⺼) sitting on a small wooden table or workbench (几) while a doctor studies your muscle tissue.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
饥
jīhungryReplaces the flesh radical with the food radical (饣).
机
jīmachineReplaces the flesh radical with the wood radical (木).
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
饥(jī)
饥 has the food radical (饣) because hunger relates to food, whereas 肌 has the flesh radical (⺼) because muscle relates to the body.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
经常锻炼可以增强[___]力量。
Clue: jī ròu
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the left flesh radical (⺼) with the standalone moon (月) or mixing up the character with 饥 (hungry) due to the identical phonetic part 几.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does the character 肌 mean and how is it pronounced?
Production: How do you write the character for 'muscle' (jī), and what are its semantic and phonetic parts?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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肌jīmuscle
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