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养鸡 (yǎng jī) — to raise chickens (verb-object compound)

Definition

A verb-object compound meaning 'raise chickens' — a specific farming activity. It can be split, as in 我养了很多鸡, where 养 takes 鸡 as its object and the quantifier or aspect marker sits between them.

verb
to raise chickens (verb-object compound)

Examples

  • 养鸡。
    Tā měi tiān zài jiā yǎng jī.
    He raises chickens at home every day.
  • 。
    Tā yǎng le hěn duō jī.
    He raised a lot of chickens.
  • 。
    Wǒ cóng lái méi yǎng guò jī.
    I have never raised chickens.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

养yǎngraise
鸡jīchicken

“养” means raise and “鸡” means chicken, together raising chickens.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 養; 养 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 養 uses 羊 as a sound part and 食 as a meaning part.

Open 养 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 雞; 鸡 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuīshort-tailed bird
Sound part声符shēngfú
奚
奚xī雞jī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 雞 pairs 奚, which gives the sound, with 隹, a short-tailed bird. The simplified 鸡 is a later shorthand, and its right side is not the historical 奚.

Open 鸡 →
Appears in
Agriculture & Farming

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