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鸡蛋 (jī dàn) — egg

Definition

Plain everyday word for a chicken egg, the kind you eat. 卵 is the scientific/biologic term (cells, reproduction), not used for food.

noun
egg
Measure word · 个, 打

Examples

  • 鸡蛋。
    Wǒ chī le yí gè jī dàn.
    I ate an egg.
  • 鸡蛋。
    Wǒ yào mǎi sān gè jī dàn.
    I want to buy three eggs.
  • 鸡蛋。
    jī dàn Hěn bái.
    The egg is very white.

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
蛋dànegg

鸡 specifies the animal and 蛋 is the egg; together they mean a hen's egg.

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
虫虫chóngsnake, insect
Sound part声符shēngfú
延
延yán蛋dàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 蛋, the lower part 虫 is a snake or insect, and the upper part is a shortened 延 giving the sound for 'egg'.

Open 蛋 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 1HSK 2.0 Level 2Meat & Seafood5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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