How to Write 腿 (tuǐ) — Meaning “leg”

Imagine your leg (腿) feeling tired and wanting to "retreat" (退) from walking — the right side 退 sounds like "tway" and reminds you of stepping back. The meat radical ⺼ on the left helps you remember it's a fleshy body part, like your thigh or calf.

The left radical ⺼ (月-like) has 4 strokes: a short left-falling stroke, then a horizontal hook, then two inner strokes (the second is a vertical line). The right part 退 is written first as 艮 (7 strokes) then the walk radical 辶 (3 strokes). A common mistake is making the left radical too wide or confusing the top of 艮 with 日 — keep the left side narrow and the right side balanced.

腿 (leg) and 脚 (foot) both have the meat radical ⺼, but 脚 has 却 on the right and means "foot," while 腿 has 退 on the right. 脱 (take off) also uses ⺼ but has 兑 on the right. Visually, 腿's right side 退 includes 辶 (walking radical), which hints at movement, while 脱's right side 兑 looks like a person (兄) with two legs (儿).

腿 is used for any part of the leg, such as 大腿 (thigh) and 小腿 (calf), as well as food items like 鸡腿 (chicken leg/drumstick). In Chinese culture, 鸡腿 is a popular dish often served at family meals, and the phrase "抱大腿" (bào dà tuǐ) literally means "hug someone's thigh" but is slang for sucking up to a powerful person.

Common words containing 腿 include: 大腿 (dà tuǐ) — Thigh; 小腿 (xiǎo tuǐ) — Calf (of the leg); 鸡腿 (jī tuǐ) — Chicken leg / Drumstick.