肝 (gān): liver
肝 (gān) is a Chinese character meaning “liver.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺼ (semantic) and 干 (phonetic). It ranks #1743 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 肝 flesh. Its radical form 月 (moon) appears in many related characters such as 月 (yuè, moon, month), 有 (yǒu, to have), 朋 (péng, friend).
Definitions
- liver
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 肝 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 肝脏 | gān zàng | liver |
| 心肝 | xīn gān | darling |
| 肝炎 | gān yán | hepatitis |
| 心肝宝贝 | xīn gān bǎo bèi | precious darling (often refers to one's child) |
| 肝硬化 | gān yìng huà | cirrhosis |
| 肝癌 | gān ái | liver cancer |
| 肝火 | gān huǒ | irascibility |
| 鱼肝油 | yú gān yóu | cod liver oil |
| 乙肝 | yǐ gān | hepatitis B |
| 肝病 | gān bìng | liver disease |
| 肝肠寸断 | gān cháng cùn duàn | lit. liver and guts cut to pieces (idiom) |
| 甲肝 | jiǎ gān | hepatitis A |
| 牛肝菌 | niú gān jùn | porcino (Boletus edulis) |
| 驴肝肺 | lǘ gān fèi | a donkey's liver and lungs |
| 巴心巴肝 | bā xīn bā gān | with all one's heart (dialect) |
肝 appears in 39 compound words: 31 as the first character, 23 as the last, and 46 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 肝 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (9)
to pour one's heart out; to talk without reserve; to have a heart-to-heart talk
Example Sentences
长期饮酒会对肝脏造成损害，建议适量饮酒。
Chángqī yǐnjiǔ huì duì gānzàng zàochéng sǔnhài, jiànyì shìliàng yǐnjiǔ.
Long-term drinking can damage the liver; moderate drinking is recommended.
长期避孕药的副作用大吗?会不会增加血栓或肝功能异常风险
cháng qī bì yùn yào de fù zuò yòng dà ma ? huì bù huì zēng jiā xiě shuān huò gān gōng néng yì cháng fēng xiǎn
Are the side effects of long-term contraceptives significant? Does it increase the risk of blood clots or abnormal liver function?
吃饭时一个小改变,脂肪肝就有可能好转!
chī fàn shí yī gè xiǎo gǎi biàn , zhī fáng gān jiù yǒu kě néng hǎo zhuǎn !
A small change when eating may improve fatty liver!
大黄狗遭3楼丢下!肝脏碎裂 民众救援心疼
dà huáng gǒu zāo 3 lóu diū xià ! gān zāng suì liè mín zhòng jiù yuán xīn téng
The big yellow dog was dropped on the 3rd floor! The liver is broken, and the people are distressed
脂肪肝不是胖人专利 三类高危族群与改善关键
zhī fáng gān bù shì pàng rén zhuān lì sān lèi gāo wēi zú qún yǔ gǎi shàn guān jiàn
Fatty liver is not the patent of fat people, three types of high-risk groups and the key to improvement
南京江宁春节再传佳讯!全球首款轻量化肝脏脂肪定量检..
nán jīng jiāng nìng chūn jié zài chuán jiā xùn ! quán qiú shǒu kuǎn qīng liáng huā gān zāng zhī fáng dìng liáng jiǎn . .
Nanjing Jiangning Chinese New Year is another good news! The world's first lightweight liver fat quantitative...
她得了肝炎，难怪越来越瘦了。
Tā déle gānyán, nánguài yuèláiyuè shòu le.
She got hepatitis no wonder she is losing so much weight.
我在肝里给你留了个地方，酒精啊。
Wǒ zài gān lǐ gěi nǐ liú le gè dìfang, jiǔjīng ā.
I have a corner in my liver just for you, alcohol.
她哭得肝肠寸断。
Tā kū de gānchángcùnduàn.
She cried her heart out.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 肝 (gān) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 肝 and 汗?
How many strokes does 肝 have?
What is the radical of 肝?
What are the components of 肝?
What are common words containing 肝?
What characters sound the same as 肝 (gān)?
Is 肝 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 肝 with real-time feedback
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