石 points to rock.
to break, to rout; to ruin, to destroy
COMMON WORD破 · broken; damaged; worn out; lousy; rotten; to break, split or cleaveOpen 破 character →The 皮 Character Family
皮 recurs in these common characters. Use it to notice a pattern, then check each character’s own pronunciation and tone.
皮 is a sound clue; the left component changes the meaning.
Learn the semantic clue, then open the character page to practise it in context.
氵 points to water.
waves, ripples, breakers; undulations
COMMON WORD奔波 · to rush about; to be constantly on the moveOpen 波 character →衤 points to cloth.
bedding; a passive particle meaning "by"
COMMON WORD被 · quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, if the doer is not mentioned, before the verb); (since c. 2009) (sarcastic or jocular) used to indicate that the following word should be regarded as being in air quotesOpen 被 character →疒 points to sickness.
weak, tired, exhausted
COMMON WORD疲劳 · fatigue; wearily; weariness; wearyOpen 疲 character →土 points to earth.
slope, hillside, embankment
COMMON WORD坡 · slope; sloping; slantedOpen 坡 character →Start with these six high-value examples, then open the complete 14-character family when you are ready.
View all 14 family characters →How should I study the 皮 character family?
Compare the meaning-side component, then learn every member in a common word. The shared component is a memory aid, not a fixed pronunciation rule.