TongTong
Sign in

皮 (pí) — (noun) skin (of humans/animals); leather; fur; (adjective) naughty, mischievous

Definition

皮 alone is the general, common word for 'skin' or 'leather' (used as a noun or in compounds like 皮肤, 皮革). As an adjective it means 'naughty' — 调皮 is the most common everyday form; 顽皮 is slightly literary; 淘气 emphasizes being mischievous.

noun
skin (of humans/animals)leatherfur
adjective
naughtymischievous
Measure word · 张
Easily confused

Examples

  • 。
    Xià tiān wǒ de pí fū róng yì bèi shài shāng.
    My skin is easily sunburned in summer.
  • 皮，。
    Zhè zhāng pí fēi cháng ruǎn, shì hé zuò shā fā.
    This piece of leather is very soft, suitable for making a sofa.
  • 皮，。
    Nà ge xiǎo hái tài pí le, bǎ jiā lǐ lòng dé luàn qī bā zāo.
    That child is too naughty, messing up the house.

Origin

Pictograph
六书liùshū
象形xiàngxíng

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.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Body Parts2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.