鞣 (róu): to tan (leather)

Meanings

工人用植物鞣料把生皮鞣成软皮革。

Gōngrén yòng zhíwù róu liào bǎ shēng pí róu chéng ruǎn pígé.

Workers use plant tannin to tan the raw hide into soft leather.

鞣过的牛皮更耐用防水。

Róu guò de niúpí gèng nàiyòng fángshuǐ.

Tanned cowhide is more durable and waterproof.

usage

鞣 is the technical verb for tanning hides into leather. Common in 鞣制 (to tan / tanning) and 鞣料 (tanning agent).

radical

革 gé

leather; hide

Left side 革 (treated animal hide) is the radical, directly naming the material being worked, since 鞣 is the act of turning hide into leather.

phonetic

柔 róu

soft; supple (here phonetic-semantic)

Right side 柔 (soft, supple) gives the sound róu exactly, and its meaning fits perfectly: tanning makes a stiff hide soft.

鞣 róu