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表皮 (biǎo pí) — (of skin) epidermis; (of plants) cuticle

Definition

Literally 'outer skin,' 表皮 is the scientific term for the outermost layer of an organism — the human epidermis or a plant's cuticle — more technical than the everyday 皮肤.

noun
(of skin) epidermis(of plants) cuticle

Examples

  • 表皮。
    Rén de biǎo pí kě yǐ bǎo hù shēn tǐ.
    The human epidermis protects the body.
  • 表皮。
    Zhí wù de biǎo pí fáng zhǐ shuǐ fèn liú shī.
    The cuticle of plants prevents water loss.
  • 表皮。
    Zhè zhǒng shuǐ guǒ de biǎo pí hěn báo.
    The skin of this fruit is very thin.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

表biǎosurface
皮pískin

表 means surface and 皮 means skin; together they name the outer skin layer.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 表 pairs 衣 (garment) with 毛 (hair or feather), originally an outer garment.

Open 表 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

Open 皮 →
Appears in
Body Parts

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