How to Write 脬 (pāo) — Meaning “bladder; (measure word for urine or stool)”

Imagine the right part 孚 looks like a hand (爫) squeezing a small child (子) – that could be a bladder being squeezed to release urine. The sound pāo is like "pop" – think of a bladder popping like a water balloon.

Write the left radical 月 first: vertical stroke, horizontal fold hook, then two inner horizontal lines (4 strokes). Then write the right side 孚: top 爫 (three strokes: dot, dot, left-falling) and bottom 子 (three strokes: fold hook, horizontal, vertical hook). A common mistake is confusing the right side with 包 (bāo), so be sure to include the top claw and bottom child.

脬 (pāo) has 月 on the left and 孚 on the right, meaning bladder. 朐 (qú) also has 月 on the left but the right is 句 (a wrap and mouth), meaning dried meat or a place name. 朔 (shuò) has 月 on the right side (not left) and left side 屰, meaning new moon or north – so the radical position and the other component differ completely.

脬 is mainly used in dialects for "urinary bladder" (尿脬) and as a measure word for a puddle of urine or stool (一脬尿). It appears in terms like 气脬 (air bladder or bubble). In standard Mandarin, the common word for bladder is 膀胱 (páng guāng), so 脬 is informal and region-specific.

Common words containing 脬 include: 尿脬 (suī pāo) — urinary bladder (dialect); 一脬尿 (yī pāo niào) — a puddle of urine; 气脬 (qì pāo) — Air bladder / Bubble.