Origin

The character 脂 combines the radical 月, which represents flesh or the body, on the left side with 旨 on the right, which serves as a sound hint for pronunciation. The 月 component makes sense because fat and grease are substances found in or derived from animal bodies. The right side doesn't add meaning but rather tells you how the character sounds when spoken. Together, the shape came to represent fatty substances that occur naturally in flesh.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).