胆
dǎn
gall bladder
courage; guts; gall; inner container (e.g. bladder of a football, inner container of a thermos)
flesh (⺼) + phonetic (旦) = the body's guts and gall
The flesh radical grounds the meaning in the body — the gall bladder is the organ that stores bile, long associated in Chinese culture with daring and nerve. 旦 mainly contributes the sound dǎn; the meaning comes from the body radical.
他胆子很大，一个人敢走夜路。
tā dǎn zi hěn dà , yī gè rén gǎn zǒu yè lù 。
he has a lot of guts; he dares to walk alone at night.
医生说他的胆有问题，需要手术。
yī shēng shuō tā de dǎn yǒu wèn tí , xū yào shǒu shù 。
the doctor said there is a problem with his gall bladder and he needs surgery.
Words with 胆
卧薪尝胆
wò xīn cháng dǎn
lit. to sleep on brushwood and taste gall (like King Goujian of Yue 勾踐|勾践[Gou1 jian4], in order to recall one's humiliations) (idiom)
惊心胆颤
jīng xīn dǎn chàn
frightening
鼠胆
shǔ dǎn
cowardly
龙肝凤胆
lóng gān fèng dǎn
rare food
龙胆
lóng dǎn
rough gentian
龙胆紫
lóng dǎn zǐ
gentian violet C25H30ClN3
一身是胆
yī shēn shì dǎn
devoid of fear (idiom)
乙酰胆碱
yǐ xiān dǎn jiǎn
acetylcholine ACh (amine related to vitamin B complex)
倾心吐胆
qīng xīn tǔ dǎn
to pour out one's heart (idiom)
内胆
nèi dǎn
inner container (e.g. the rice pot inside a rice cooker, the vacuum bottle inside a thermos, the tank inside a hot water heater, the bladder of a football)
剖肝沥胆
pōu gān lì dǎn
(idiom) to be completely honest and sincere
吃熊心豹子胆
chī xióng xīn bào zi dǎn
to eat bear heart and leopard gall (idiom)