1.
a man-made material designed to imitate the look, feel, and performance of animal leather; synthetic or artificial leather
An engineered material that imitates real leather. Commonly made with a polyurethane or PVC coating on a fiber base of polyester or nylon. Used in shoes, bags, jackets, furniture, car interiors, sports equipment, and soccer balls. Compared with genuine leather (本革), it is cheaper, lighter, easier to clean, and largely animal-free, but tends to be less breathable and less durable over the long term.
この靴は人工皮革製だ。
These shoes are made of synthetic leather.
本革より人工皮革のほうが手入れが楽だ。
Synthetic leather is easier to take care of than real leather.
最近のサッカーボールは、ほとんどが人工皮革で作られている。
Recent soccer balls are almost all made from synthetic leather.
人工皮革は動物由来の素材を避けたい人にも選ばれている。
Synthetic leather is also chosen by people who want to avoid materials of animal origin.
Composed of 人工 (artificial, man-made) + 皮革 (leather, hide). The compound 皮革 is itself a more formal/technical word for leather than the everyday 革.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 人工皮革製: made of synthetic leather
- 人工皮革の靴: synthetic-leather shoes
- 人工皮革素材: synthetic-leather material
- 人工皮革を使う: to use synthetic leather
- 人工皮革ソファ: synthetic-leather sofa
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 合成皮革: synthetic leather — a near-synonym used especially on product labels; often abbreviated to 合皮.
- 合皮: pleather — the everyday short form of 合成皮革; very common in fashion and retail.
- 本革: genuine / real leather — the standard opposite term.
- 天然皮革: natural leather — a more formal opposite used in product specifications.
- 革: leather, hide — the general everyday word, can refer to real or artificial depending on context.
TECHNICAL NOTE:
In the Japanese leather industry, 人工皮革 and 合成皮革 are not always perfect synonyms:
- 合成皮革: a fabric base with a thin plastic (PU or PVC) coating on the surface; structure is clearly two-layer.
- 人工皮革: a nonwoven fiber base impregnated with resin; structure is more three-dimensional and closer to genuine leather in feel and breathability. Ultrasuede and similar premium materials fall in this category.
In everyday conversation, however, the two are often used interchangeably.
TYPICAL PRODUCTS:
- Shoes and sneakers
- Bags and wallets
- Jackets
- Car seats and interior trim
- Sofa upholstery
- Soccer balls and baseball gloves (modern models)