How to Write 腩 (nǎn) — Meaning “brisket”

Imagine that brisket is meat from the southern part of the cow. The left side 月 means meat, and the right side 南 sounds like 'nan' and can remind you of 'south' — place where barbecue brisket is often cooked.

Keep the left radical 月 narrow and tall, not too wide. The right part 南 has a specific inner structure: a '十' shape inside a frame; do not confuse it with 内 or 而. The overall width should be balanced.

腩 (nǎn) means brisket and uses 月 on the left as a meat radical. 望 (wàng) means to look or hope, with 月 on top but different components (亡 and 王). 朝 (zhāo/cháo) means morning or dynasty, also with 月 on the left but with 十 and 早 parts. Their meanings are completely unrelated.

腩 appears mainly on restaurant menus and in cooking contexts, particularly for Cantonese dishes. Common examples are 牛腩 (beef brisket) in noodle soup and 鱼腩 (fish belly) in steamed dishes. It is not in HSK vocabulary but is essential for food lovers.

Common words containing 腩 include: 牛腩 (niú nǎn) — beef brisket; 鱼腩 (yú nǎn) — Fish belly fillet; 腩肉 (nǎn ròu) — brisket meat.