How to Write 脷 (lì) — Meaning “tongue (Cantonese/dialect)”

Imagine a pig's tongue (猪脷) that is so sharp it can "profit" (利) from every meal, since 利 means profit. The left side 月 (moon) reminds you it's a fleshy body part, like a slice of moon meat. Together, think "moon profit tongue" to recall the shape and meaning.

The left radical 月 must be written narrow and tall, with the first stroke a left-slanting vertical (丿). The right side 利 has a small 禾 (grain) on top and a 刂 (knife) below; make sure the horizontal stroke of 禾 does not extend too far left into the 月. A common mistake is making the 月 too wide, which unbalances the character.

脷 (lì) means tongue, while 朐 (qú) means dried meat or the chest, and 朔 (shuò) means new moon or first day of the month. Visually, 朐 has the same 月 radical but a different right part (句), and 朔 has 月 on the left and 朔 (with 屰 and 月) on the right. Their pronunciations and meanings are completely unrelated.

脷 is primarily used in Cantonese and other southern dialects as the word for "tongue," especially in food contexts like 猪脷 (pig tongue) and 牛脷 (ox tongue). It replaces the standard Mandarin 舌头 (shétou) because 舌 sounds like "loss" (蝕) in Cantonese, which is unlucky. You will see it on menus in Hong Kong and Guangdong restaurants.

Common words containing 脷 include: 猪脷 (zhū lì) — pig tongue (dialect); 牛脷 (niú lì) — ox tongue; 脷尖 (lì jiān) — tip of the tongue.