雏鸡 (chú jī) — baby chick, newly hatched chicken

Definition

noun
baby chicknewly hatched chicken
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 雏鸡。
    Nóng chǎng lǐ gāng fū chū yì wō chú jī.
    A brood of baby chicks just hatched on the farm.
  • 雏鸡。
    Zhè xiē chú jī xū yào bǎo nuǎn.
    These baby chicks need to stay warm.
  • 雏鸡。
    Tā měi tiān gěi chú jī wèi shí.
    She feeds the baby chicks every day.

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.

雏chúyoung bird
鸡jīchicken

雏 means young bird, and 鸡 is chicken, suggesting a newly hatched chicken.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 雛; 雏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
芻
芻chú雛chú(r)
Same sound today

The traditional form 雛 pairs 隹, a bird, with 芻 for the sound.

Open 雏 →

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 →

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