鸡雏 (jī chú) — chick (young chicken)

Definition

noun
chick (young chicken)
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 鸡雏。
    Mǔ jī fū chū le jǐ zhī jī chú.
    The hen hatched several chicks.
  • 鸡雏，。
    Zhè xiē jī chú máo róng róng de, zhēn kě ài.
    These chicks are fluffy and really cute.
  • 鸡雏。
    Tā zài shì chǎng shàng mǎi le yì xiē jī chú huí jiā yǎng.
    He bought some chicks at the market and raised them at home.

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
雏chúyoung bird

鸡 names the chicken and 雏 names a young bird, together meaning a young 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 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 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 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.