1The soft tissue of an animal or human body (flesh) — muscle and fatty tissue under the skin.
事故で腕の肉が深く切れてしまった。
The flesh of his arm was cut deeply in the accident.
包丁が滑って指先の肉を少し切ってしまった。
The knife slipped and I cut a bit of flesh on my fingertip.
病気で肉が落ちて、骨ばかりになってしまった。
Illness made him lose so much flesh that he was almost nothing but bones.
2Meat used as food (beef, pork, chicken, etc.).
夕食に牛肉のステーキを焼いた。
I grilled a beef steak for dinner.
ベジタリアンの友達は肉を食べない。
My vegetarian friend doesn't eat meat.
この料理は肉が入っていないから安心して食べていいよ。
This dish has no meat in it, so it's safe for you to eat.
スーパーで安い肉を買ってカレーを作った。
I bought cheap meat at the supermarket and made curry.
3The flesh or pulp of a fruit (the soft edible part inside).
この桃は肉が厚くて甘い。
This peach has thick, sweet flesh.
このみかんは皮が厚くて肉が少ない。
This mandarin has thick skin and little flesh.
4The physical body as opposed to the spirit; the corporeal, including bodily desires or sensations.
肉の欲望に流されないように気をつける。
Be careful not to be led astray by bodily desires.
死ねば肉は土に返るが、魂はどうなるのだろうか。
When one dies the flesh returns to the earth, but what happens to the soul?
苦しい時、肉よりも心の支えが必要だ。
In hard times, support for the heart matters more than bodily comforts.
5The thickness of a material's cross-section — a technical term for the wall thickness of metal, castings, etc.
この金属板は肉が薄くて強度が足りない。
This metal plate has thin walls and lacks strength.
鋳物は肉が均一でないと割れやすい。
If a casting's wall thickness isn't uniform, it cracks easily.
6Content or substance — the concrete material that fills out an argument, text, or topic; used figuratively as in 'to add substance.'
その企画書は説明が薄く、もっと肉が必要だ。
That proposal's explanation is thin; it needs more substance.
具体的な例を加えて、話に肉をつけた。
I added concrete examples to give the talk more substance.
議論に肉があると聞きごたえがある。
When a discussion has substance, it's more engaging to listen to.
7A shortened way of referring to seal ink (印肉), the ink pad used for stamping personal seals. In practice this is almost never used alone — it always appears as the compound 印肉.