皮肤 (pí fū) — skin | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

皮肤 (pífū) is the standard word for human (and animal) skin. 皮 is a shorter, more general form also meaning leather/fur, while 肌肤 is a literary/formal variant used in writing or for delicate skin.

noun

skin

Measure word · 层, 块

Examples

皮肤。
Tā de pí fū hěn guāng huá.
Her skin is very smooth.
皮肤。
Xià tiān yào bǎo hù hǎo pí fū.
You need to protect your skin in summer.
皮肤。
Wǒ liǎn shàng yǒu yí kuài pí fū guò mǐn le.
I have a patch of skin on my face that's allergic.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

皮pískin or hide

皮 means skin or hide and 肤 also means skin, together referring to the body's outer covering.

Characters in this word

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

肉肉ròuflesh

Sound part声符shēngfú

夫

夫fū肤fū

Same sound today

The shape of 肤 comes from 肉, flesh, plus 夫, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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