HanziGuru.肤 · fū
肤
fū[fu1]Tone 1

skin

HSK 5
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膚
Guru Deep Dive

English · skin

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Topology:Left-right
Strokes:8
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (⺼ / 月) should be narrower and slightly shorter than the right component (艮), allowing them to stand side-by-side in perfect equilibrium.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 膚 uses 盧 as the right phonetic component, whereas the simplified form 肤 replaces 卢 with 艮, reducing stroke complexity while preserving the phonetic and structural balance.
1. Meaning

skin (of the human body)

surface, outer layershallow, superficial
Noun / Bound FormNeutral / FormalBound morpheme#human body#anatomy#appearance
Sample Usage
  • 皮肤
    pífū
    skin
  • 肤浅
    fūqiǎn
    superficial, shallow
2. Sound
/[fu⁵⁵]/Tone: 55
肤
fūfu1
++
¯(55)
=fū
Initial Consonant
f
Type: Labiodental Fricative
Sounds like: f sound
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Continuous smooth friction.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Upper teeth touch the lower lip lightly, air escapes continuously.
Final Rhyme
u
Vowel Group: -u vowel group
Sounds like: oo sound as in food
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oo'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T1 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 stays flat and high, like a musical note sustained at the top of your vocal range.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the high level tone (Tone 1) with the rising tone (Tone 2), or mistaking the 'f-' initial for 'h-' or 'p-'.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A flat, high-pitched horizontal hand gesture held steady at eye level, matching the high level tone.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 8 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (⺼ / 月) should be narrower and slightly shorter than the right component (艮), allowing them to stand side-by-side in perfect equilibrium.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 膚 uses 盧 as the right phonetic component, whereas the simplified form 肤 replaces 卢 with 艮, reducing stroke complexity while preserving the phonetic and structural balance.

4. Components

Radical 月 · Meat / Flesh Radical (⺼) (flesh, body parts)

Semantic Clue (形旁): ⺼ (Indicates body parts and flesh (derived from 肉))

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 艮 (original sound: gen / fu)

The flesh radical ⺼ on the left represents the human body, while the component 艮 on the right gives a hint to the sound, together combining to mean the outer flesh or skin.

  • ⺼ Flesh / body part semantic clue
  • 艮 Phonetic clue
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the flesh/meat symbol (肉/⺼) to indicate bodily tissue with a phonetic component representing the sound and boundary.

Semantic Evolution: From the physical flesh and body lining in ancient texts to modern usage primarily denoting human skin and outer surfaces.

  • The meat radical is written as 月 (⺼) when placed on the left side of a Chinese character.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
phu
Corresponds to the modern Mandarin high level tone.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: フ / Kun: はだ
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
부
Sound Shift Bridge: The initial 'f' and final 'u' match across cognate borrowings and parallel sound structures in East Asian historical vocabulary.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine your flesh (⺼) standing firm and good like a barrier (艮) protecting your body—that protective layer is your skin (肤).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
扶
fúto support with handChange flesh radical (⺼) to hand radical (扌) to get 'to support'.
符
fúmark, tally, symbolChange flesh radical (⺼) to bamboo radical (⺮) to get 'tally/symbol'.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
扶(fú)
扶 has the hand radical (扌) because you support someone with your hand; 肤 has the flesh radical (⺼) because skin is part of the body.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
她的[___]非常白皙细腻。
Clue: pí fū
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the right-side component with unrelated characters like 良 or 食, or writing the flesh radical incorrectly.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does the character 肤 mean, and what is its radical?
Production: How do you write the character for 'skin' (fū) using the flesh radical?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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