How to Write 膻 (shān) — Meaning “smell of mutton; rank odor”

Imagine a sheep (羊 shape is inside 亶) in the moonlight (月 radical) that smells very strong and gamy. The components suggest 'moon + sheep' — picture the smell of mutton hitting you under the moon, which helps link 膻 to its muttony meaning.

Pay attention to the proportions: the left radical 月 should be narrow, and the right part 亶 has many horizontal strokes that must be evenly spaced. A common mistake is to confuse the top of 亶 (which is 一 口 日) — make sure the middle '口' is closed, and do not omit the dot at the bottom right of the last component (旦). The stroke order follows left-to-right, top-to-bottom within each part.

膻 (shān) specifically means a muttony or rank smell, whereas 朦 (méng) means dim or obscure and has a different radical (月 but with 蒙 phonetic), and 膘 (biāo) means fat on meat. Visually, 膻 has the right component 亶, while 朦 has 蒙 and 膘 has 票; they share the 月 radical but the phonetic parts are completely different both in form and meaning.

膻 is commonly used in words like 膻味 (shān wèi) to describe the strong, gamey smell of mutton or lamb, especially in cooking. In Chinese cuisine, some people dislike this odor and try to remove it with spices, while others enjoy the distinctive flavor; the word carries a slightly negative connotation of being too strong or rank.

Common words containing 膻 include: 膻味 (shān wèi) — muttony smell; rank odor; 羊膻 (yáng shān) — Gamey smell of mutton; 膻气 (shān qì) — muttony smell; rank odor.