肉

rou

meat; flesh

Represents the shape of tissues (仌) that appear when a meat is cut (冂).

府

fu

government;

prefecture; official mansion

政府 government; 府邸 official residence, mansion;

大使府 embassy (lit. ambassador’s office)

a big building under which officials assign tasks and hand over documents and fees belongs to government

腐

fu

to rot/decay; corrupt

腐烂 to rot, to decay; 腐败 corruption (like in politics); 

the government is the center of power, and when meat is offered as a bribe, it is a sign of decay and corruption

朋

peng

friend; companion

亲朋好友 relatives and close friends

Two similar-sized fish (肉) are tied together to form a two-row bundle of fish, representing people who share similar ideas becoming friends.

育

yu

to raise, to nurture

to educate

培育 to cultivate, foster (plants/talents)

生育 to give birth to and raise

Earliest Form: Depicted a child (子) upside-down, symbolizing childbirth; The inverted 子 represented the baby during delivery.

a new born child's (子 upside-down) flesh needs to be nourished, raised and later educated

佥

qian

all, everyone, unanimous

assemble (ji) + many people [symbol]

people gathered all in one place

脸

lian

face, cheek;

fig. reputation

他板着脸。"He pulled a long face."; 

变脸 to suddenly change expression

丢脸 – to lose face (be humiliated)

给脸 to give someone respect (lit. give face)

the moon always shows to all the very same face

亠

tou

囟

xin

fontanel; top of head; skull

囟门 the formal word for "fontanelle" (often used instead of 囟 alone)

 a square (囗) with an "X" (乂) inside (marking the soft spot), mimicking the crossed sutures of a baby’s skull

脑

nao

brain

脑海 mind / imagination (lit. “brain sea”)

动脑筋 to use your brain / think hard; 脑力 mental power

头疼脑热 minor illnesses (lit. headache, brain fever)

flesh (肉) that is placed and protected behind a fontanel  (亠 + 凶) is brain

半

ban

half, semi-

半杯水 "half a glass of water";  半透明 "semi-transparent"

Signifies a cow (牛) which is being butchered and cut in half (八).

胖

pang

fat, plump, chubby

胖子 a fat person (colloquial, can be pejorative;

肥胖 obesity (clinical term); 胖乎乎 chubby (affectionate, often for babies)

When your flesh (⺼) looks like half (半) a person’s size, you’re fat (胖 )!