肌肉
jīròu · HSK 5
muscle
💪 肌 = flesh radical + 几; 肉 = meat. flesh-meat = muscle
肌 pairs the 月 (flesh/body) radical with 几 for sound; 肉 is the classic pictograph for meat. Together flesh+meat names the soft tissue we flex — muscle, brawn.
肉 — pictograph of a slab of meat with ribs/striations
肉 is a pictograph originally depicting a piece of butchered meat, showing the outer cut and the striations of muscle or ribs inside. The character has meant 'flesh' or 'meat' since oracle bone times. As a radical it is usually written 月 on the left or bottom of characters relating to the body (e.g. 肝, 胃).