蜕皮 (tuìpí): to molt

Meanings

1 to molt
2 to shed skin
3 to slough

Characters

蜕

Examples

蛇每年都要蜕皮几次。

Shé měi nián dōu yào tuìpí jǐ cì.

Snakes molt several times a year.

晒伤后我开始蜕皮了。

Shàishāng hòu wǒ kāishǐ tuìpí le.

After getting sunburned I started peeling.

Tips

usage

Used both literally for animals (snakes, insects, crustaceans) and casually for humans peeling after a sunburn. Figuratively, it can describe transformation or self-renewal: 涅槃蜕皮 (rebirth-and-molt).

Stroke Order

蜕 tuì

皮 pí

Related Words

脱皮 tuōpí #35,286

to peel (of skin) / to flake off / to molt

干皮 gānpí

dry skin (skin type) / a person with dry skin

皮肤 pífū HSK 5 #2,168

skin (of a person) / complexion

皮 pí HSK 3 #1,314

skin; leather / peel; rind; surface / naughty; mischievous (colloquial)

虎皮 hǔpí #35,980

tiger skin / tiger hide / tiger-skin pattern / (figuratively) a borrowed authority used to intimidate

皮肤病 pífūbìng #25,654

skin disease / skin condition / dermatosis

豆皮 dòupí

tofu skin / dried beancurd sheet / (Wuhan dish) doupi — pan-fried sticky-rice and beancurd-skin parcel

奶皮 nǎipí

milk skin (the film that forms on heated milk) / urum (Mongolian clotted milk skin dairy snack, usually called 奶皮子)

冰皮月饼 bīngpíyuèbǐng

snow skin mooncake / ice skin mooncake

双皮奶 shuāngpínǎi

double skin milk (Cantonese milk custard dessert) / steamed milk-egg custard with a double-layered skin