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野鸡 (yě jī) — (zoology) ring-necked pheasant; (slang, vulgar) unlicensed prostitute; (slang, noun modifier) unlicensed, fake, operating outside official regulations (e.g., 野鸡大学, 野鸡车)

Definition

Literally 'wild chicken,' 野鸡 refers to the ring-necked pheasant. In slang it means an unlicensed prostitute or, as a modifier, anything fake or operating without official approval (e.g., 野鸡大学 'diploma mill').

noun
(zoology) ring-necked pheasant(slang, vulgar) unlicensed prostitute(slang, noun modifier) unlicensed, fake, operating outside official regulations (e.g., 野鸡大学, 野鸡车)
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 野鸡。
    Shān shàng yǒu yì zhī yě jī zài fēi.
    There is a pheasant flying in the mountains.
  • 野鸡。
    Jǐng chá zài zhè tiáo jiē shàng zhuā yě jī.
    The police are arresting unlicensed prostitutes on this street.
  • 野鸡。
    Tā huā le hěn duō qián shàng le yí gè yě jī dà xué.
    He spent a lot of money attending a diploma mill university.

Origin

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.

野yěwild
鸡jīchicken

野 means wild, and 鸡 means chicken, originally naming a wild bird.

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
田田tiánfield
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
予
予yǔ野yě
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

野 combines 田 (field) above 土 (earth) to show open country, with 予 giving the sound.

Open 野 →

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
Birds

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