股
また · mata · JLPT N3 · noun
thigh
🦵 月 (flesh radical) + 殳; mata is where the body forks into two legs
The 月 on the left is the flesh radical found in body-part kanji like 腕 and 脚. Mata also means a fork or split: 二股 (futamata) is a two-way fork, and 股 names the spot where the legs fork from the body.
股 — meat/flesh 月 (肉) + weapon 殳
Originally a semantic-phonetic compound: 月 (a form of 肉 'flesh') gives the meaning of a body part — the thigh — while 殳 hints at the sound. The thigh meaning extended to 'section' or 'portion,' and from there to modern senses like a strand of something or a share of stock.
もも · momo · JLPT N1 · noun
thigh
股 — meat/flesh 月 (肉) + weapon 殳
Originally a semantic-phonetic compound: 月 (a form of 肉 'flesh') gives the meaning of a body part — the thigh — while 殳 hints at the sound. The thigh meaning extended to 'section' or 'portion,' and from there to modern senses like a strand of something or a share of stock.