The kanji character 肩 肩 primarily means "shoulder." It refers to the part of the body connecting the arm to the torso. The meaning can extend to encompass the area around the shoulder.

・On-yomi (音読み): * ケン (ken) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): * かた (kata)

⚫︎ 肩が痛い。 Translation: My shoulder hurts. ⚫︎ 肩車をする。 Translation: To give someone a piggyback ride (literally: to shoulder-wheel). ⚫︎ 肩書き Translation: Title; designation (of a position).

The kanji 肩 肩 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, けいせいもじ). The semantic component is 月 (or 肉, now written as 月) representing "flesh" or "body." The phonetic component is 畐, which originally depicted a vessel. Together, these elements suggest the part of the body (肉) related to the shoulder. Over time, the form of the character evolved.