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brain

nǎo
10 strokes · 月 (flesh radical) + 齿-like right side — the organ in the skull · HSK 1

Where 脑 comes from

脑 (traditional 腦) pairs the flesh radical 月 — used for body parts — with a right side that once drew hair above a skull. Flesh + skull-with-hair: the brain inside the head.

脑 in Chinese culture

脑 is the thinking organ, and Chinese pairs it brilliantly: 电脑 (electric brain — computer) is the everyday star. 脑子 (nǎozi) is the colloquial 'brains/mind': 动脑子 means 'use your head'. 头脑 (with 头 you learned) is one's mind or wits. When Chinese coined a word for computer, it didn't borrow — it imagined a brain made of electricity, and the word stuck.

Example

电脑 diànnǎo — computer

他用电脑工作。
Tā yòng diànnǎo gōngzuò.
He works with a computer.

How to remember it

Flesh radical 月 + a skull full of wiring — the BRAIN.

电脑 'electric brain' beat the loanword for computer in mainland usage — imagination won over transliteration.

Same sound, different tones

2nd náo
to scratch
3rd nǎo
brain
4th nào
noisy

Words unlocked by 脑

电脑 diànnǎo
computer
脑子 nǎozi
brains / mind
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