胆子
dǎn zi · HSK 7
courage
💪🦁 dǎn sounds like done — when you have guts, you get things done
胆 originally means gallbladder, the organ ancient Chinese associated with bravery. 胆子 = gallbladder + suffix, so courage literally comes from your gut organ. Bold people were said to have a large gallbladder.
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'.
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.