How to Write 胱 (guāng) — Meaning “bladder; cystine-related”

Picture your bladder glowing like a light inside your body—the left side 月 means 'body part', and the right side 光 means 'light'. So you can remember 胱 as 'the glowing body part'.

Write the left radical 月 first, then add 光 on the right. Be careful with the bottom of 光: it has a small hook (竖钩) instead of a straight stroke. Also, keep 光 narrow so the whole character stays balanced.

胱 has 月 on the left and 光 on the right, meaning 'bladder'. 朋 is two 月 side by side and means 'friend'. 朊 is rare and refers to a protein; visually it uses 月 and 元. The key difference is the right-side component: 光 for 胱, 月 for 朋, and 元 for 朊.

胱 appears almost only in medical terms like 膀胱 (bladder) and 膀胱炎 (cystitis). You will not encounter it in casual conversation unless discussing health or anatomy. It is not part of the common HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 胱 include: 膀胱 (páng guāng) — bladder; 膀胱炎 (páng guāng yán) — cystitis / bladder infection; 膀胱镜 (páng guāng jìng) — cystoscope.