How to Write 肭 (nà) — Meaning “fat; seal (as in 'fur seal')”

Imagine a fur seal that is very fat, with lots of meat (月) inside (内) its body. The picture of a round, plump seal with a big belly will help you link the meaning 'fat' or 'seal' to the components.

Write the left radical 月 first with 4 strokes: 撇, 横折钩, 横, 横, keeping it narrow. Then add the right part 内 with 4 strokes: 竖, 横折钩, 撇, 点. A common mistake is making the right part look like 肉 (ròu) instead of 内; remember that 内 has a closed top and a short point at the bottom.

All three share the radical 月, but 有 (yǒu) has 又 (yòu) on the right and means 'to have', while 朊 (ruǎn) has 元 (yuán) and means 'protein'. 肭 uses 内 (nèi) on the right and only appears in rare words about seals or fat. Visually, 内 has a box-like top whereas 又 is cross-shaped and 元 has two horizontal strokes.

肭 is extremely rare and not part of daily vocabulary. It appears mainly in the compound word 腽肭 (wà nà) meaning 'fur seal' and in 腽肭脐 (wà nà qí), the seal's kidney used in traditional Chinese medicine. You will only encounter it in specialized or historical texts.

Common words containing 肭 include: 腽肭 (wà nà) — fur seal; 腽肭脐 (wà nà qí) — seal kidney (used in traditional medicine); 肥肭 (féi nà) — Plump; fleshy..