(jī) - chicken in Mandarin
jīTraditional: 雞
Translation
chicken
Word origin
The traditional form 雞 is phono-semantic: 隹 (zhuī, short-tailed bird) carries the meaning and 奚 (xī) the sound. The simplified 鸡 keeps 鸟 (bird) and replaces the phonetic with the shorthand 又.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 隹 (zhuī, bird) + 奚 (xī, phonetic)
Stroke order
鸡
Examples
养。
We keep a few chickens at home.
。
We are having chicken for dinner tonight.
。
That chicken has run out onto the road.
。
Eggs are cheaper than chicken meat.
。
He does not eat chicken.
鸡 (jī) is a chicken, the bird and the meat alike. Its measure word is 只 (zhī), the one used for most animals: 一只鸡.
On a menu you will usually see 鸡肉 (jī ròu) rather than bare 鸡, because 肉 makes it unambiguously the meat. Both are correct at the dinner table, and dish names shorten it anyway: 鸡蛋 is an egg, 炸鸡 is fried chicken, 鸡汤 is chicken soup and also, figuratively, the sort of feel-good inspirational waffle we would call cheesy.
One caution. 鸡 is also long-standing slang for a prostitute, which is why 小鸡 is not the safe cute diminutive an English speaker expects. Say 小鸡 for a chick only where the context is a farmyard, and reach for 鸡肉 whenever you mean the food.
Where this fits
Used in
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鸡: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "鸡" (chicken): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 49.