How to Write 胬 (nǔ) — Meaning “pterygium”

Imagine a "slave" (奴) who has a strange "fleshy" (肉) growth on his eye, causing him to squint. The image of a slave with a lump of flesh on the eye helps you recall both the components and the medical meaning of 胬 (pterygium).

Pay attention to the proportions: the top part 奴 should be narrower than the bottom 肉, and the 女 in 奴 is written with three strokes (ㄑ, 丿, 一). A common mistake is making the left side of 奴 too wide or forgetting the short downward stroke (丿) in the 又 component. Practice the stroke order: first the top 奴 (5 strokes), then the bottom 肉 (6 strokes) for a total of 11.

胬 has the top component 奴 (slave), while 脔 has 亦 (meaning also) as its top part. The meanings are different: 胬 refers to a fleshy growth or pterygium, whereas 脔 means a small slice of meat. Visually, 脔 has a horizontal stroke through the top (亦) that 胬 does not have.

胬 is a medical term, almost always used in the compound 胬肉 to refer to pterygium, a fleshy growth on the eye's conjunctiva. It appears in ophthalmology contexts such as 胬肉攀睛 (a pterygium spreading toward the cornea) and 切除胬肉 (surgical removal of a pterygium). This character is not used in daily conversation; it is specific to clinical or anatomical descriptions.

Common words containing 胬 include: 胬肉 (nǔ ròu) — pterygium; proud flesh; 胬肉攀睛 (nǔ ròu pān jīng) — pterygium (eye condition); 切除胬肉 (qiē chú nǔ ròu) — excision of pterygium.