肌肤 (jī fū) — skin (literary/formal); flesh | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary/formal word for 'skin' (the body covering). More elevated than 皮肤, which is the everyday term; 肌肤 emphasizes smoothness and tenderness, often in cosmetics or poetic contexts.

noun

skin (literary/formal)flesh

Examples

肌肤。
Zhè kuǎn rǔ yè néng shēn céng zī rùn jī fū.
This lotion can deeply moisturize the skin.
肌肤。
Yīng ér de jī fū fēi cháng róu nèn.
A baby's skin is very soft and tender.
肌肤。
Tā qīng qīng de chù mō tā de jī fū.
She gently touched his skin.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

肌jīmuscle

'肌' (muscle) and '肤' (skin) together mean skin and flesh.

Characters in this word

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

⺼Written in full as肉ròu

Sound part声符shēngfú

几

几jǐ肌jī

Same sound today

In 肌, the left part ⺼ is the flesh form, matching muscle or flesh, while the right part 几 supplies the sound.

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

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Body Parts

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