How to Write 肮 (āng) — Meaning “dirty; filthy”

Imagine a person’s belly (月) is so full of dirty food that it sticks out in a high mound (亢) — that mound is dirty and disgusting. This visual connects the flesh radical to the idea of being filthy.

Write the left radical "月" first as two vertical strokes then two horizontals, keeping it narrow. The right part "亢" has four strokes: dot, horizontal, left-falling, and a vertical hook — make sure the vertical hook is straight and does not curve left too much, and keep the whole character balanced with the left side slightly shorter.

有 (yǒu, to have) uses the same left radical "月" but the right side is "又" (hand), giving a completely different meaning. 朊 (ruǎn, protein) has "月" on the left and "元" on the right — note that 肮 uses "亢" (kàng) while 朊 uses "元" (yuán), and 肮 means dirty, not a chemical term.

肮 is mostly found in the compound 肮脏 (āng zāng) meaning "dirty" or "filthy" for both physical dirt and immoral actions. It also appears in 肮脏话 (foul language) and 肮脏事 (dirty business), so it is used to describe things that are morally repulsive or physically unclean, though it is a bit stronger and less common than 脏 alone.

Common words containing 肮 include: 肮脏 (āng zāng) — dirty; filthy; 肮脏话 (āng zāng huà) — dirty talk; foul language; 肮脏事 (āng zāng shì) — dirty business; foul deeds.