(pí fū) - skin in Mandarin
pífūTraditional: 皮膚
Translation
skin
Word origin
A compound of 皮 (pí, hide, a pictograph of a hand stripping a skin from an animal) and 肤 (fū, skin), whose traditional form 膚 carries 月, the flesh radical.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 皮 (pí, hide) + 肤 (fū, skin)
Stroke order
皮
肤
Examples
。
Her skin is very fair.
，晒。
The sun is too strong, be careful your skin does not burn.
。
This medicine is bad for the skin.
冬。
In winter my skin gets very dry.
。
The doctor examined the skin on his hand.
皮肤 (pí fū) is skin, specifically human skin. It is the word for a dermatologist's sign, a cosmetics advert and a doctor's question alike, and it is uncountable in practice: you talk about 皮肤 the way English talks about skin, not about skins.
The related words split by what is wearing the skin. 皮 alone means hide or leather and is the one you want for animals and for the peel of fruit, so 香蕉皮 is a banana skin. 皮肤病 is a skin disease and 皮肤科 the dermatology department, both common enough to be worth memorising whole.
The trap is reaching for 皮肤 whenever English says skin. A banana skin, a leather bag and the skin on hot milk are all 皮, never 皮肤. Keep 皮肤 for the living surface of a person, and let 皮 handle everything else.
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皮肤: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "皮肤" (skin): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 52.