How to Write 胛 (jiǎ) — Meaning “Shoulder blade”

Imagine your shoulder blade as a piece of armor (甲) attached to your flesh (月). Picture a warrior wearing shoulder armor that protects the flat bone — the sound "jiǎ" is like the first syllable of "jacket," a covering for your upper back.

Keep the left 月 part narrow and the right 甲 part wider for balance. The correct stroke order is: write 月 first (4 strokes), then 甲 (5 strokes). A common mistake is making the two parts the same width or confusing the right side with 由 or 田.

朋 (péng) means "friend" and is two 月 side by side — visually it's two identical halves, while 胛 has one 月 and one 甲. 朊 (ruǎn) is a rare character meaning a protein or soft substance — it uses 元 (yuan) instead of 甲. Only 胛 refers to the shoulder blade.

胛 appears almost exclusively in anatomical or medical terms, like 肩胛骨 (jiān jiǎ gǔ) meaning "scapula" or "shoulder blade." You might hear it in fitness contexts when talking about shoulder exercises or in a doctor's office, but it is not used in everyday conversation.

Common words containing 胛 include: 肩胛骨 (jiān jiǎ gǔ) — scapula; shoulder blade; 肩胛 (jiān jiǎ) — shoulder blade; scapula; 胛子 (jiǎ zi) — Shoulder blade.