The early character 肉 is usually explained as a drawing of a cut piece of meat, with short inner lines suggesting its texture. Over centuries the outline became the compact six-stroke form used today. This old flesh shape also appears as a component in many body-related characters; in that position it often looks almost identical to 月, “moon”, so context matters.
A piece of culture
A hidden body clue When 肉 is squeezed into another character, it is commonly written in the moon-like form 月. In words such as 肚, “belly”, and 腿, “leg”, that side is the old flesh component, not the moon. Recognizing this visual clue turns one everyday food character into a key for reading many characters about the human body.