鸡笼 (jī lóng) — chicken coop, chicken cage

Definition

noun
chicken coopchicken cage
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 鸡笼。
    Tā bǎ jī guān zài jī lóng lǐ.
    He locked the chickens in the chicken coop.
  • 鸡笼。
    Zhè ge jī lóng kě yǐ zhuāng shí zhī jī.
    This chicken coop can hold ten chickens.
  • 鸡笼。
    Nóng chǎng de jī lóng hěn dà.
    The chicken coop on the farm is very big.

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.

鸡jīchicken
笼lóngcage

A “笼” cage used for “鸡” chickens makes a chicken coop.

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 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 →

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 籠; 笼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
𥫗Written in full as竹zhú
Sound part声符shēngfú
龍
龍lóng籠lóng
Same sound today

The traditional form 籠 is built from 竹 (bamboo) and 龍, which gives the sound. The simplified 笼 is a later shorthand.

Open 笼 →

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