肥 / 胖 vs 瘦
páng / féi vs shòu
"fat / fat" vs "thin, lean"
These Chinese characters are interesting for revealing cultural perspectives.
The characters for "fat / obese" are written with the flesh radical (the left hand side of 肥 / 胖), yet the character for "thin / lean" is written with the sickness radical (the 疒 element in 瘦).
(The radical part of a Chinese character indicates the category of the meaning, e.g., water radical characters are to do with water, be they nouns or verbs or adjectives: 池 chí / pond, 洗 xǐ / to wash, 清 qīng / clear [vs 濁 / 浊 zhuó / muddy].)
This is to do with the historical situation, I think.
With (among other things) the constant floods and famines, there was always the insecurity and worry about food being enough.
A Chinese will comment on someone who has put on weight with "你發福了 / 你发福了 / nǐ fā fú le / "you have developed blessings", which AI says can be a joke, or is "tactful, diplomatic or euphemistic".
I think it can actually be a genuine compliment, especially in the old days, or with the older generation, because being fat means that one has enough to eat.
See also my mother's attempt at putting on weight: https://piccola-chinita.blogspot.com/2013/06/one-way-of-putting-on-weight-or-not.html
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