肠 (cháng) is a Chinese character meaning “intestine”. It is written from 月 (moon; month) and 𠃓 (reduced form of 昜, the phonetic side of 场 / 扬 / 汤), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “intestine”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
月 + 𠃓
Left–right structure
Structure from: modern glyph decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke geometry (strokes 1-4 = 月, strokes 5-7 = 𠃓); radical from Unicode Unihan; 说文解字 lists the traditional form 腸 as 从肉昜聲
Memory aid
The flesh radical 月 on the left tells you this is part of a body; 𠃓 on the right coils and folds back on itself like a long tube — the intestine.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 香肠xiāng chángsausage肠 = cháng
- 大肠dà chánglarge intestine肠 = cháng
- 肠胃cháng wèistomach and intestines; the digestive system肠 = cháng
Go deeper
All readings
intestine
intestine; gut; (figuratively) one’s feelings or disposition
人或动物消化食物的管状器官；肠子。也比喻心思、情感。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 香肠xiāng chángsausage肠 = cháng
- 大肠dà chánglarge intestine肠 = cháng
- 肠胃cháng wèistomach and intestines; the digestive system肠 = cháng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 肠 mean?
肠 (cháng) means intestine; gut; (figuratively) one’s feelings or disposition.
How do you pronounce 肠?
It is pronounced cháng.
What parts is 肠 made of?
月 (moon; month) and 𠃓 (reduced form of 昜, the phonetic side of 场 / 扬 / 汤), side by side. The recorded source is: modern glyph decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke geometry (strokes 1-4 = 月, strokes 5-7 = 𠃓); radical from Unicode Unihan; 说文解字 lists the traditional form 腸 as 从肉昜聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 肠 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 肠?
月. 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 肠?
Common ones are 香肠 and 大肠. The reading of 肠 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.