胆怯
dǎn qiè · HSK 7
timid
🐭 胆 = gallbladder (guts/courage) + 怯 = afraid — no guts, all fear
In Chinese medicine, the gallbladder 胆 is the seat of courage. 怯 means fearful or shrinking back. Together: someone whose gallbladder fails them — gutless, timid, cowardly.
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'.