肝 (gān) is a Chinese character meaning “liver (the organ)”. It is written from 月 (moon; month) and 干 (dry), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “liver”
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Structure
月 + 干
Left–right structure
Structure from: 《说文解字》：肝，木藏也。从肉干聲；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：7 画 = 左「月」4 画 + 右「干」3 画（左旁「月」为肉的偏旁形）
Memory aid
The flesh-side 月 marks a body organ, and 干 (gān) hands you the sound — 肝, gān, the liver.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 肝脏gān zàngliver (organ)肝 = gān
- 肝炎gān yánhepatitis肝 = gān
Go deeper
All readings
liver
liver (the organ)
人和动物体内的重要器官，能分泌胆汁、参与代谢和解毒。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 肝脏gān zàngliver (organ)肝 = gān
- 肝炎gān yánhepatitis肝 = gān
Sound component
干 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 肝 mean?
肝 (gān) means liver (the organ).
How do you pronounce 肝?
It is pronounced gān.
What parts is 肝 made of?
月 (moon; month) and 干 (dry), side by side. The recorded source is: 《说文解字》：肝，木藏也。从肉干聲；现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：7 画 = 左「月」4 画 + 右「干」3 画（左旁「月」为肉的偏旁形）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 肝 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 肝?
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 肝?
Common ones are 肝脏 and 肝炎. The reading of 肝 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.