肚子
dùzi · HSK 4
tummy
🤰 肚 = belly + 子 (noun suffix); literally belly-thing = tummy
肚 carries the 月 (flesh/body) radical on the left plus 土 (earth) as the phonetic, marking it as a body part pronounced like 'tǔ/dù'. The 子 suffix turns it into an everyday noun, the way 鼻子 (nose) and 桌子 (table) work.
子 — pictograph of a baby/child with arms out
子 began as a pictograph of a swaddled infant with a large head and outstretched arms, originally meaning 'baby' or 'child.' From there it broadened to 'son,' 'offspring,' and a respectful suffix for masters like 孔子 (Confucius). It also became one of the twelve earthly branches.
dù zi · HSK 3
stomach
🫃 肚 = stomach + 子 (noun suffix); 肚 has 月 (flesh) radical + 土 (tǔ) for sound
肚 combines the 月 flesh/body radical with 土 (tǔ, earth) as a phonetic hint — note 肚 dù rhymes with 土 tǔ. 子 is a common noun suffix (as in 桌子, 椅子). So 肚子 literally reads as flesh-earth + noun-suffix = belly.
子 — pictograph of a baby/child with arms out
子 began as a pictograph of a swaddled infant with a large head and outstretched arms, originally meaning 'baby' or 'child.' From there it broadened to 'son,' 'offspring,' and a respectful suffix for masters like 孔子 (Confucius). It also became one of the twelve earthly branches.