How to Write 胳 (gē) — Meaning “arm”

Imagine that each part of your arm (胳膊) has its own "guest" (各) made of flesh (月). You can picture a tiny person named Ge visiting your arm, with the moon (月) shining on the elbow. This links 各 (guest) and 月 (flesh) to the meaning of arm.

Start with the 月 radical on the left, writing it narrow with two horizontal strokes inside. Then write 各 on the right, with the top 夂 (three strokes) and the bottom 口 (square). A common mistake is making the 月 too wide or placing the 各 too far apart—keep them balanced side by side.

The left side of 胳 is 月, same as 朋, but 朋 has two 月 radicals side by side and means "friend," not a body part. 朊 has 月 on the left and a different right part (元), and it refers to a protein or something soft, not the arm. 胳 specifically means "arm" and is pronounced gē.

The character 胳 rarely appears alone but is common in compound words like 胳膊 (arm), 胳膊肘 (elbow), and 胳肢窝 (armpit). These are everyday terms for body parts, used in both casual and medical contexts. There is no special cultural note, but knowing these words helps with basic physical descriptions.

Common words containing 胳 include: 胳膊 (gē bó) — arm; 胳膊肘 (gē bó zhǒu) — elbow; 胳肢窝 (gē zhī wō) — armpit.