肉 (ròu) is a Chinese character meaning “meat”. It is written from 冂 (down box) and 人 (person) and 人 (person), one enclosing the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “meat”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
冂 + 人 + 人
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验）
Memory aid
A wrapper (冂) with two people (人 人) tucked inside it — two portions of meat packed up together.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 牛肉niú ròubeef肉 = ròu
- 卤肉lǔ ròubraised meat stewed in soy sauce and spices肉 = ròu
- 羊肉yáng ròumutton; lamb肉 = ròu
- 羊肉串yáng ròu chuànlamb skewer; mutton kebab肉 = ròu
- 肌肉jī ròumuscle肉 = ròu
- 涮羊肉shuàn yáng ròuinstant-boiled mutton (thin lamb slices dipped in hot-pot broth)肉 = ròu
- 烤肉kǎo ròuroast meat; barbecue肉 = ròu
- 猪肉zhū ròupork肉 = ròu
- 肉脯ròu fǔdried meat slices; jerky肉 = ròu
Go deeper
All readings
meat
meat; flesh; the edible part of a fruit
可以吃的动物肌肉组织；也指瓜果里可以吃的部分。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 牛肉niú ròubeef肉 = ròu
- 卤肉lǔ ròubraised meat stewed in soy sauce and spices肉 = ròu
- 羊肉yáng ròumutton; lamb肉 = ròu
- 羊肉串yáng ròu chuànlamb skewer; mutton kebab肉 = ròu
- 肌肉jī ròumuscle肉 = ròu
- 涮羊肉shuàn yáng ròuinstant-boiled mutton (thin lamb slices dipped in hot-pot broth)肉 = ròu
- 烤肉kǎo ròuroast meat; barbecue肉 = ròu
- 猪肉zhū ròupork肉 = ròu
- 肉脯ròu fǔdried meat slices; jerky肉 = ròu
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 肉 mean?
肉 (ròu) means meat; flesh; the edible part of a fruit.
How do you pronounce 肉?
It is pronounced ròu.
What parts is 肉 made of?
冂 (down box) and 人 (person) and 人 (person), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 肉 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 肉?
肉. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 肉?
Common ones are 牛肉. The reading of 肉 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.