金鸡 (jīn jī) — golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus); Metal Rooster (58th year in the Chinese sexagenary cycle)

Definition

Two distinct senses: the golden pheasant (bird, Chrysolophus pictus) and the Metal Rooster year in the 60-year cycle (and 金鸡奖, the major Chinese film award). The 天干地支 sexagenary-cycle sense is the HSK 7 reading.

noun
golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus)Metal Rooster (58th year in the Chinese sexagenary cycle)
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • 金鸡。
    Wǒ zài dòng wù yuán lǐ kàn dào le yì zhī piào liang de jīn jī.
    I saw a beautiful golden pheasant at the zoo.
  • 金鸡，。
    Míng nián shì jīn jī nián, hěn duō rén dǎ suàn zài nà yì nián jié hūn.
    Next year is the Metal Rooster year; many people plan to get married that year.
  • 金鸡。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng huò dé le jīn jī jiǎng zuì jiā yǐng piàn.
    This film won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Picture.

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.

金jīngold/metal
鸡jīrooster

金鸡 combines 金, gold or metal, with 鸡, rooster, so it can mean a golden rooster or the metal rooster year.

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.

金 was drawn with marks for two pieces of metal, along with a part that gave its sound; it first meant copper, then metals and gold.

Open 金 →

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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