脱皮 (tuō pí) — to peel off; to shed (skin, bark, or outer layer)

Definition

Used when skin, bark, or the outer layer of fruit naturally comes off or is shed (e.g. sunburned skin, a snake shedding). Here 脱 means 'come off / shed', distinct from 剥 bāo, which describes actively peeling something open.

verb
to peel offto shed (skin, bark, or outer layer)
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，脱皮。
    Tā de liǎn shài shāng le, zhèng zài tuō pí.
    His face is sunburned and is peeling.
  • 。
    Shé měi nián yào tuō hǎo jǐ cì pí.
    Snakes shed their skin several times a year.
  • 脱皮。
    Zhè zhǒng shuǐ guǒ de pí hěn róng yì tuō pí.
    The skin of this fruit peels off very easily.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

脱tuōpeel off
皮pískin

脱 means peel off and 皮 means skin, describing skin peeling off.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 脫; 脱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròu
Sound part声符shēngfú
兌
兌duì脫tuō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 脫 puts ⺼ (meat) beside 兌, which gives the sound; the simplified 脱 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 脱 →

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 →

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