How to Write 胰 (yí) — Meaning “pancreas”

Picture the left part 月 as a "moon" or "flesh," and the right part 夷 as a "big bow" (like a person carrying a bow). Imagine a pancreas shaped like a bow, with flesh around it, helping you recall the organ. The sound "yí" matches the word "yee" as in "yee-haw," so think of a cowboy's bow-shaped pancreas.

Write 月 first as a narrow vertical shape, then the right side 夷: start with the horizontal stroke at the top, then the large bow-like 弓 (which has three horizontal strokes), and finally the two small strokes inside the 'bow' area. A common mistake is making the 月 too wide or misplacing the 弓's proportions—keep the left part slim and the right part balanced.

胰 and 朊 both have the flesh radical 月, but 朊 (ruǎn) means "soft" or "protein" and is pronounced ruǎn—its right side is 元 (yuán). 朋 (péng) means "friend" and has two 月 side by side, with no flesh-related meaning. Visually, 胰 has a more complex right side (夷), while 朊 has a simpler 元 and 朋 has two identical halves.

It mainly appears in medical terms like 胰腺 (pancreas) and 胰岛素 (insulin), which is a crucial hormone for diabetes treatment. 胰岛素 is widely known even outside medical contexts because of its importance in treating diabetes. You won't see 胰 in daily conversation unless discussing health or biology.

Common words containing 胰 include: 胰腺 (yí xiàn) — pancreas; 胰岛素 (yí dǎo sù) — insulin; 胰液 (yí yè) — pancreatic juice.