How to Write 脂 (zhī) — Meaning “fat; grease; resin”

Imagine a piece of meat (月) that is so delicious and tasty (旨) that it melts into fat in your mouth. The word "grease" also starts with 'g' to remind you of the pinyin zhī.

Keep the left radical 月 narrow and slightly taller, while the right part 旨 is wider and roughly the same height. A common mistake is making the top 匕 in 旨 too small or forgetting the dot above the 日-like component.

朊 (ruǎn) means protein and has 儿 under 月 instead of 旨, so it looks like a different radical combination. 朋 (péng) is two 月 side by side, meaning friend, and has no connection to flesh or fat. Visually, 脂 has a distinct right component that neither of these shares.

You often see 脂 in words like 脂肪 (zhī fáng, fat tissue), 油脂 (yóu zhī, grease or oil), and 胭脂 (yān zhī, rouge or blush). The character appears frequently in health, cooking, and cosmetic contexts, and 胭脂 has historical significance as traditional Chinese makeup.

Common words containing 脂 include: 脂肪 (zhī fáng) — fat; adipose tissue; 油脂 (yóu zhī) — Grease or fat; 胭脂 (yān zhī) — rouge; blush.