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母鸡 (mǔ jī) — hen

Definition

noun
hen
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 母鸡。
    Yuàn zi lǐ yǒu jǐ zhī mǔ jī zài zhǎo chóng zi chī.
    There are several hens in the yard looking for bugs to eat.
  • 母鸡。
    Zhè zhī mǔ jī měi tiān xià yí gè dàn.
    This hen lays one egg every day.
  • 母鸡。
    mǔ jī De ròu bǐ gōng jī de ròu gèng nèn.
    Hen meat is more tender than rooster meat.

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.

母mǔfemale
鸡jīchicken

"母" marks female and "鸡" names chicken, so the word means a female chicken.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 母 →

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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