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What's the difference? I got told that 皮膚【ひふ】 only works for mammals (and
humans), and 皮【かわ】 for other animals too.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-13T21:52:14.267
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2012-02-08T14:22:08.607
2011-10-14T09:13:15.520
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question
word-choice vocabulary
The difference between 皮膚【ひふ】 and 皮【かわ】
I agree that `皮膚` is only for mammals, but `皮` does not even have to be of an
animal. It can be any kind of skin, those of: fruits, vegetables, wrapped food
(dumpling, etc.), etc.
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2011-10-13T22:22:32.390
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2012-02-08T14:22:08.607
2012-02-08T14:22:08.607
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answer
皮膚{ひふ} is generally a formal word for skin, used in academics, clinics etc.
(but also frequently in everyday speech).

For example, some fishes do 皮膚{ひふ} 呼吸{こきゅう}. So it's not really for mammals
only.

My layman definition is that it has to be on an animal, and doesn't include
extra structures like hairs, feathers, scales etc. (but does include the
smooth underlying tissue).

皮{かわ} is more colloquial and can refer to any organic, generally thin
structure that can be peeled. For example, 木{き}の皮{かわ}.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-13T23:43:53.940
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2011-10-14T06:15:43.310
2011-10-14T06:15:43.310
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answer