皮

Skin Radical (皮)

pí · 5 strokes

The skin radical (皮) is a less common radical in Chinese. It appears in 2 characters related to skin and associated concepts. 2 characters: 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 7-9. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system. Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (CLEC 2022 syllabus).

Radical vs. Component: 皮 is also a character component. As a radical, it classifies characters in dictionaries. As a component, it appears as a building block contributing meaning, sound, or structure. For component-specific details including role analysis and position patterns, see the Skin Component (皮) page.

Skin Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count5
Total Characters2
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 4 (1 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes8
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Skin Radical Characters

HSK 4 (1 characters)

皮píleather

HSK 7-9 (1 characters)

皱zhòuto wrinkle

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the skin radical mean in Chinese characters?
The skin radical (皮) signals a semantic connection to skin-related concepts. When you see 皮 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves skin or associated ideas. It appears in 2 characters in the HSK character set. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system, the traditional standard for organizing Chinese characters.
How many characters use the skin radical?
There are 2 characters with the skin radical (皮) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental skin-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What are the most common skin radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the skin radical (皮) are: 皮 (pí, "leather"), 皱 (zhòu, "to wrinkle"). These high-frequency characters are among the first skin-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include skin radical characters?
Characters with the skin radical (皮) appear across 2 HSK levels: 1 in HSK 4, 1 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 4 with 1 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common skin-related characters, while advanced levels add specialized or literary terms.

Sources & Standards

Radical classifications on this page follow the Kangxi radical system (康熙部首), the standard set of 214 radicals codified in the Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, 1716). Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (《国际中文教育中文水平等级标准》), published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2022 revision.