The kanji 肌 primarily represents "skin" or "the surface of the body." It refers to the outer covering of the human body, its texture, and its condition. It can also figuratively refer to the surface or texture of things beyond the human body, such as the surface of fruit.

・On-yomi (音読み): キ (ki) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): はだ (hada)

⚫︎ 肌寒い Translation: chilly; nippy ⚫︎ 美肌 Translation: beautiful skin; good complexion ⚫︎ 肌の色 Translation: skin color

The kanji 肌 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phono-semantic compound. It combines a semantic element (meaning component) and a phonetic element (sound component). The left side is the radical of the kanji 月 (tsuki/getsu), which, when used in the context of the body, often indicates "flesh" or "body." The right side is the phonetic component, 古 (ko), indicating the sound. The combination of these components conveys the meaning of the "skin" or the outer surface of the body.