肝

• Pinyin: gān
• Hanzi breakdown: 肝 = 月 (flesh/meat radical, indicating body part) + 干 (phonetic component)

Meaning

Liver. The organ that filters blood and produces bile.

In Chinese medicine, 肝 is one of the five vital organs (五脏) and is believed to govern emotional flow, particularly anger (肝火 'liver fire' means irritability). Common expressions: 肝癌 (liver cancer), 肝炎 (hepatitis), 肝脏 (liver as organ), 心肝 (darling, literally 'heart and liver'), 肝胆相照 (to treat with utmost sincerity).

Examples

1. 长期饮酒会对肝造成严重的损害，甚至导致肝硬化。 Long-term drinking can cause serious damage to the liver, even leading to cirrhosis.
2. 中医认为肝主疏泄，与人的情绪调节密切相关。 Traditional Chinese medicine believes the liver governs the flow of qi and is closely related to emotional regulation.
3. 定期体检可以及早发现肝脏方面的问题。 Regular checkups can help detect liver problems early.

Usage Guide

Context: medical, health, traditional medicine

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 他去医院检查了肝功能。(He went to the hospital to check his liver function.)
• 这道菜用的是猪肝。(This dish uses pork liver.)

Don't Say

• 把肝脏简称为肝时不加量词 (When referring to the organ clinically, say 肝脏 for clarity; 肝 alone is fine in compounds or casual contexts)

Origin & History

Phono-semantic compound: 月 (flesh radical, originally 肉) indicates body part + 干 (gān) provides the sound.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal