How to Write 肥 (féi) — Meaning “Fat; fertile; fertilizer.”

Imagine a fat person (the meat radical on the left) eating a big hamburger at a bar (the right part 巴 looks like a bar counter). The bar is full of fatty food, so 肥 reminds you of being fat. Another way: think of a bar that serves only fatty meat, making you fat.

Write the left radical ⺼ first with three strokes: left vertical, top horizontal, then a shorter left vertical inside. Then write the right part 巴 with four strokes: horizontal, left vertical, right vertical, and a bottom horizontal that curves up at the end. A common mistake is making the left side look like the moon radical 月, which has two horizontal strokes inside instead of one.

The character 㐆 is very rare and looks different; it has a curved stroke on top and no meat radical, so it is not a common confusion. 肝 (gān, liver) has the same left radical ⺼ but the right side is 干 (gān, dry), while 肥 has 巴 on the right. Remember: 肥 is about fat, 肝 is a body organ, and their right sides are completely different.

You will often see 肥 in the common word 减肥 (jiǎn féi), meaning to lose weight or go on a diet, which is very important in Chinese health culture. It also appears in 肥皂 (féi zào, soap) because soap was originally made from animal fat, and 肥肉 (féi ròu) refers to fatty meat, which some people avoid for health reasons.

Common words containing 肥 include: 减肥 (jiǎn féi) — to lose weight; dieting; 肥肉 (féi ròu) — Fatty meat.; 肥皂 (féi zào) — Soap..