鸡

jī · gai1

chicken

Where it comes from

Some early graphs for chicken were bird-like pictures. The later traditional 雞 is a meaning-and-sound character: 隹, “short-tailed bird,” marks the animal category, while 奚 mainly supplied the historical sound. A form written with 鳥 also existed. Simplified 鸡 keeps the bird clue as 鸟; 又 replaces the complex sound side and does not mean “hand” here. This sketch follows the recognizable bird tradition without claiming one exact inscription.

A piece of culture

A bird that marks the morning
The rooster is the tenth animal in the twelve-animal Chinese zodiac, paired with the earthly branch 酉. In everyday Chinese, 鸡 / 雞 can mean chicken generally; 公鸡 / 公雞 specifies a rooster and 母鸡 / 母雞 a hen. Its familiar dawn call also made the rooster a natural image of time and morning.

Use it in a real word

鸡蛋 / 雞蛋

jīdàn · gai1 daan6

chicken egg; egg

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More characters

床蛋 ···