肿
zhǒng · HSK 6
to swell
🎈 月 flesh + 中 middle — swelling pushes out from the center
The sound zhǒng echoes 中 zhōng (middle). The radical 月 marks it as a body word. Flesh that bulges outward from its center is swollen.
肿 — flesh radical 月 (肉) + 重 zhòng
A semantic-phonetic compound. The 月 radical (a form of 肉 'flesh') signals a bodily condition, while 重 'heavy' supplies the sound and hints at the swollen, weighty feel. Together they convey 'swelling' or a tumor on the body.