胖子
pàng zi · HSK 4
fat person
🍔 胖 = fat + 子 (suffix); literally fat-one, a chubby person
胖 (pàng) means fat or plump; 子 (zi) is a common noun suffix turning adjectives into people-nouns, like 矮子 short-person or 瘦子 thin-person. So 胖子 = the fat one.
胖 — flesh radical 月(肉) + 半 bàn (half)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The 月 element here is the 'flesh/meat' radical (肉), indicating something about the body, while 半 supplies the sound (bàn → pàng). The original sense referred to the half-side of a sacrificial animal's meat, later shifting to mean 'fat' or 'plump' in reference to a well-fleshed body.
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.