肉 means “meat”

にく · niku

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading): しし
On'yomi (Chinese reading): ニク

JLPT N4 · Taught in grade 2 · 6 strokes

The story

From the ritual of hunting, meat became symbol of sustenance and celebration in Japanese life.

Essential vocabulary for dining and cooking

Where it comes from

Pictographic (象形文字): Strips of dried meat.

The ancient form was a picture of a piece of dried meat, showing the outer edges and the internal grain or marbling. The modern form preserves this: the outer frame is the meat's shape, and the inner strokes (人人) represent the texture of the meat fibers.

To remember it: A rectangular piece of meat with the grain pattern (人人) visible inside.

Its parts

肉 Meat · Entire character

A pictograph of a cut of meat with fat marbling

Words with 肉

魚肉 (ぎょにく, gyoniku): fish meat
焼肉 (やきにく, yakiniku): grilled meat

Kanji that look like 肉

内 (inside): 内 has 人 inside the frame, 肉 has two 人: more substance = meat

More from Food & Dining

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