pí fū
skin
我皮肤过敏了。
wǒ pífū guòmǐn le.
I have a skin allergy.
她皮肤很白。
tā pífū hěn bái.
She has very fair skin.
他皮肤很黑。
tā pífū hěn hēi.
He has very dark skin.
皮 (pí)
skin
肌肤 (jīfū)
skin
毛发 (máo fà)
hair
肌肉 (jī ròu)
muscle
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The Chinese word 皮肤 (pīfū) for "skin" is composed of two characters: 皮 (pí), meaning "hide, leather, or skin," and 肤 (fū), meaning "skin, complexion, or surface." The character 皮 is a pictograph depicting an animal hide, while the character 肤 is a phonetic compound combining the sound component 肤 (fū) and the semantic component 肉 (ròu), meaning "meat" or "flesh." Together, the two characters form the compound word 皮肤, which refers to the outer layer of the human body that covers the muscles and bones. The word 皮肤 is commonly used in both spoken and written Chinese to refer to skin, and it can also be used in a figurative sense to describe a person's appearance or complexion.
