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鸡胸 (jī xiōng) — chicken breast (as food); pigeon chest (a medical condition)

Definition

鸡胸 has two unrelated meanings: the food 'chicken breast' (counted with 块) and the medical condition 'pigeon chest' (a protruding sternum). The two senses are distinguished by context — cooking vs. health.

noun
chicken breast (as food)pigeon chest (a medical condition)
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 鸡胸。
    Wǒ jīn wǎn zuò le jī xiōng chǎo qīng jiāo.
    I made chicken breast with green peppers tonight.
  • 鸡胸，。
    Tā xiǎo shí hou dé le jī xiōng, xiàn zài xiōng gǔ yǒu diǎn tū chū.
    He had pigeon chest as a child, so his sternum protrudes a bit now.
  • 鸡胸。
    jī xiōng Shì hěn duō jiàn shēn ài hào zhě xǐ huan de shí wù.
    Chicken breast is a favorite food of many fitness enthusiasts.

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
胸xiōngchest

鸡 specifies the kind of 胸, meaning chicken breast or a chest shaped like one.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
匈
匈xiōng胸xiōng
Same sound today

胸 adds 肉 (meat/flesh) to the original form 匈, which provides the sound.

Open 胸 →
Appears in
Meat & SeafoodIllness & Symptoms

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