How to Write 髀 (bì) — Meaning “thigh / femur”

Imagine the left part 骨 as a bone and the right part 卑 as a person bending low (卑 means low). Picture that person touching their own thigh bone to remember that 髀 means thigh.

Start by writing the left radical 骨 with 9 strokes — be careful with the small '口' shape on top and the long vertical line. Then write the right side 卑 with 8 strokes, keeping the overall shape balanced and not too wide. A common mistake is making the right side too large, so keep both parts close together.

髀 (bì) specifically means thigh bone, while 骸 (hái) refers to a skeleton or bones of a dead body, and 骺 (hóu) is the end part of a long bone. Visually, 髀 has 卑 on the right, 骸 has 亥, and 骺 has 后, making them easy to tell apart when writing.

髀 appears mostly in medical or anatomical terms such as 髀骨 (femur) and 髀肉 (flesh on the thighs). The phrase 抚髀 (fǔ bì) is a literary expression meaning to slap one's thigh, used to show excitement or regret, and comes from classical Chinese stories.

Common words containing 髀 include: 髀骨 (bì gǔ) — femur / thigh bone; 髀肉 (bì ròu) — flesh on the thighs; 抚髀 (fǔ bì) — to slap one's thigh (in excitement or regret).