壮胆
zhuàngdǎn · HSK 7
to get one’s courage up; to embolden
💪 壮 = strong/robust + 胆 = gallbladder/courage; together = to bolster courage, embolden
In old Chinese medicine the gallbladder (胆) was the seat of bravery, so 壮胆 literally means making the gall strong. The pronunciation zhuàngdǎn pairs zhuàng (sturdy) with dǎn (gall).
壮 — 爿 (bed/plank, phonetic) + 士 (scholar/warrior)
A semantic-phonetic compound. 士 ('warrior, man') gives the meaning of strength and vigor, while 爿 ('plank, bed') supplies the sound. Originally describing a robust, sturdy man, it broadened to mean 'strong, robust, magnificent' in general.
胆 — flesh radical 月 (肉) + 旦 dàn (phonetic)
胆 is a phono-semantic compound. The 月 component here is the 'flesh/meat' radical (肉), marking it as a body part — the gallbladder. 旦 (dàn) gives the sound. By extension, since the gallbladder was traditionally linked to courage, 胆 also means 'guts' or 'bravery'.