肥 (féi) is a Chinese character meaning “fat (of animals or meat)”. It is written from 月 (moon; month) and 巴 (to cling to; (transliteration syllable ba)), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “fat; fertile”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
月 + 巴
Left–right structure
Structure from: 《说文解字》：肥，多肉也。从肉从卪；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：8 画 = 左「月」4 画 + 右「巴」4 画（左旁「月」为肉的偏旁形，右旁现代楷书作「巴」）
Memory aid
The flesh radical 月 on the left, 巴 on the right: picture flesh (月) that clings on (巴) and will not let go — that is what fat does.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 肥皂féi zàosoap肥 = féi
- 肥沃féi wòfertile; rich (of soil)肥 = féi
- 减肥jiǎn féito lose weight; to go on a diet肥 = féi
- 肥胖féi pàngobese; overweight肥 = féi
- 钾肥jiǎ féipotash fertilizer肥 = féi
Go deeper
All readings
fat; fertile
fat (of animals or meat); loose-fitting (of clothes); fertile, rich (of soil); fertilizer
含脂肪多的（多指动物或肉）；衣服宽大；土地养分足；也指肥料。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 肥皂féi zàosoap肥 = féi
- 肥沃féi wòfertile; rich (of soil)肥 = féi
- 减肥jiǎn féito lose weight; to go on a diet肥 = féi
- 肥胖féi pàngobese; overweight肥 = féi
- 钾肥jiǎ féipotash fertilizer肥 = féi
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 肥 mean?
肥 (féi) means fat (of animals or meat); loose-fitting (of clothes); fertile, rich (of soil); fertilizer.
How do you pronounce 肥?
It is pronounced féi.
What parts is 肥 made of?
月 (moon; month) and 巴 (to cling to; (transliteration syllable ba)), side by side. The recorded source is: 《说文解字》：肥，多肉也。从肉从卪；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：8 画 = 左「月」4 画 + 右「巴」4 画（左旁「月」为肉的偏旁形，右旁现代楷书作「巴」）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 肥 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 肥?
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 肥?
Common ones are 肥皂 and 肥沃. The reading of 肥 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.