鸡 (jī) — chicken
Definition
noun
chicken
Measure word · 只
Examples
- 鸡。Wǒ xǐ huan chī jī.I like to eat chicken.
- 鸡。Zhè zhī jī hěn dà.This chicken is very big.
- 鸡。jī Zài hē shuǐ.The chicken is drinking water.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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.
Appears in
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