肩

音読おんよみ: ケン

訓読くんよみ: かた

画数かくすう: 8

部首ぶしゅ: 月（にくづき）

Meaning

Shoulder.

  • 肩かた — shoulder
  • 肩書かたがき — job title; affiliation
  • 肩幅かたはば — shoulder width
  • 肩凝かたこり — stiff shoulders
  • 肩車かたぐるま — shoulder ride
  • 肩甲骨けんこうこつ — shoulder blade

肩 uses the body radical 月 (“flesh”) to point to a body part, combined with a shape related to a frame/door-like element. Think of the shoulder as the doorway where the arm “hangs” from the body — the joint that carries weight and allows the arm to move.

屋

The にくづき radical shows this kanji is about the body. Pair 肩 (shoulder) with 腕 (arm), and you see the connection: the shoulder is where the arm begins. The radical reminds you it belongs to body-related kanji.

書
Forms

肩書かたがき — job title; professional designation

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