皮 (pí) · skin; leather

Meanings

1 skin; leather
2 peel; rind; surface
3 naughty; mischievous

Characters

皮

pí

skin; leather; naughty

A pictograph of a hand stripping skin from an animal. Also means 'naughty' colloquially.

Examples

HSK 1

这个苹果的皮可以吃。

Zhège píngguǒ de pí kěyǐ chī.

The peel of this apple is edible.

HSK 1

这个孩子太皮了！

Zhège háizi tài pí le!

This kid is so naughty!

HSK 5

他的皮肤很白。

Tā de pífū hěn bái.

His skin is very fair.

Tips

register

皮 as 'naughty' is very colloquial and often used affectionately for mischievous children or playful people online.

grammar

皮 appears in many compound words: 皮肤 (skin), 皮鞋 (leather shoes), 皮包 (handbag), 橡皮 (eraser).

Components

pictograph

皮 pí

skin; hide; leather

Pictograph of a hand stripping hide from an animal carcass - the upper curl is the pelt being peeled back, the lower curve is the hand (又) doing the work. Kangxi radical #107, indexing skin/leather characters: 皱 (wrinkle), 皴 (chapped), 皲 (cracked skin), 颇 (rather/slanted-skin). Self-radical; the structure is etymologically unitary and shouldn't be sub-decomposed.

Radical

Skin Kangxi #107

A small radical group covering hides, surfaces, and skin-like coverings. The character itself does most of the lifting; under it dictionaries file mainly 皱 (wrinkle) and 皴 (chapped skin / a brushwork technique in painting). Often appears as a phonetic in unrelated compounds (波, 破, 被, 披).