How to Write 胴 (dòng) — Meaning “torso; carcass”

Think of the left side 月 as a 'moon' or 'flesh' and the right side 同 as 'same' — so the 'same flesh' from the neck to the hips is the torso. Visualize a person's trunk that looks the same all the way down.

The left radical 月 should be narrow, and its first two strokes (apostrophe and horizontal) are slightly slanted. The right part 同 has a vertical stroke that starts from the top horizontal, and the bottom horizontal inside '口' must not cross the surrounding frame.

胴 means torso or carcass, 朊 (ruǎn) is a rare character meaning 'soft' or a biochemical term for 'protein', and 朋 (péng) means friend. Visually, 朊 has 儿 instead of 同, and 朋 is two moons side by side, while 胴 has 月 on left and 同 on right.

胴 appears in formal or technical contexts, such as '胴体' for a human torso or an animal carcass in meat processing. It is not a common daily word, but you might see it in biology, anatomy, or butchering references. In Chinese food markets, '猪胴体' refers to a whole pig carcass split for sale.

Common words containing 胴 include: 胴体 (dòng tǐ) — torso; body; carcass; 胴部 (dòng bù) — torso part; 猪胴体 (zhū dòng tǐ) — pig carcass.