How to Write 骼 (gé) — Meaning “skeleton / bone”

Imagine that 骼 is 'each bone' in your body: the left side 骨 means bone, and the right side 各 sounds like '各' meaning 'each' or 'every'. So you can think of 'each bone' forming the skeleton together.

The left side 骨 has 9 strokes and is written first, with the top part being a small box (骨) and the lower part containing a curved hook and two dots. The right side 各 has 6 strokes and is slightly narrower; be careful not to make the overall character too wide. A common mistake is writing the left radical too large, unbalancing the character.

骼 (gé) means skeleton or bone, while 骰 (tóu) means dice and is used in the word 骰子 (dice). 骱 (jiè) refers to a joint or articulation of bones, as in 骨关节 (bone joint). Visually, 骰 has the right component 殳 (a hand holding a weapon), 骱 has 介 on the right, and 骼 has 各 on the right.

骼 is most commonly found in the word 骨骼 (gǔ gé, skeleton) and 骨骼肌 (gǔ gé jī, skeletal muscle), which are formal scientific terms. It is not used in everyday conversation but appears in anatomy, medicine, and biology contexts. There is no special cultural note, but it is essential for describing the human body's structure.

Common words containing 骼 include: 骨骼 (gǔ gé) — skeleton; 骨骼肌 (gǔ gé jī) — skeletal muscle; 骼骨 (gé gǔ) — bone / skeleton.