家禽 (jiā qín) — poultry, domestic fowl

Definition

家禽 refers specifically to domesticated birds raised for food, like chickens and ducks. 牲畜 is the broader term covering all farm animals.

noun

poultrydomestic fowl

Measure word · 只

家禽，。
Nóng chǎng shàng yǎng le hěn duō jiā qín, bǐ rú jī hé yā.
There are many poultry raised on the farm, such as chickens and ducks.
家禽，。
Chāo shì lǐ de jiā qín dōu jīng guò jiǎn yì, kě yǐ fàng xīn mǎi.
The poultry in the supermarket has all passed inspection, so you can buy it with confidence.
，家禽。
Zuì jìn qín liú gǎn yán zhòng, yǎng zhí hù bì xū gěi jiā qín dǎ yì miáo.
Avian flu is serious recently; farmers must vaccinate their poultry.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

家jiādomestic

家 points to being kept at home, and 禽 points to birds or fowl.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢑓

𢑓𢑓家jiā

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The earliest 禽 drew a net. A sound part was later added, and the old net and sound shapes changed into today's 禽.

Appears in