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  What it means

  Literally “thin skin,” this idiom describes a person who is overly sensitive, easily hurt, or quick to take offence. Someone with cienka skóra cannot cope well with criticism, teasing, or harsh truths — they react emotionally where a thicker-skinned person would brush it off. The phrase is usually used descriptively (about someone) rather than directly to their face, since pointing it out would itself be an example of the sensitivity it describes.

  Vocabulary

  • cienka — thin (feminine adjective agreeing with skóra)
  • skóra — skin; also leather or hide (feminine noun)
  • cienki — thin (masculine base form)

  Grammar note

  Skóra is a feminine noun, so cienki takes the feminine form cienka in the nominative. The phrase is typically used predicatively with the verb mieć (to have): On ma cienką skórę (He has thin skin). In that construction skóra declines to the accusative: cienką skórę. It can also function as a stand-alone noun phrase used as a subject.

  Cultural context

  Cienka skóra is a colloquial, universally understood phrase equivalent to the English 'thin-skinned.' Its opposite, gruba skóra (thick skin), refers to someone who is resilient and unfazed by criticism. Both are common in everyday speech. In professional contexts, having gruba skóra is generally seen as a positive trait, while cienka skóra is viewed as a weakness.

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