母鸡 meaning in English
hen; don't know (humorous slang mimicking Cantonese 唔知, Jyutping: m4 zi1)
Meaning of 母鸡
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- hen
- don't know (humorous slang mimicking Cantonese 唔知, Jyutping: m4 zi1)
How to use 母鸡
母鸡 is the everyday word for a hen, often used when talking about farms or eggs. Online and in casual speech it is also a joke for "I don't know," because it sounds like Cantonese 唔知 (m4 zi1). Example: 这只母鸡每天下一个蛋。 (Zhè zhī mǔjī měitiān xià yí ge dàn.) This hen lays one egg every day.
母 (mǔ) means mother and 鸡 (jī) means chicken, so a mother chicken is a hen. Picture a hen sitting on her eggs like a mother caring for her children.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes mix up 母鸡 (hen) and 公鸡 (gōngjī, rooster), since both end in 鸡. Also remember 母 is third tone (mǔ), not fourth tone like 木 (mù).
母鸡 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
母 mǔ · mother · 5 strokes
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- 5
鸡 jī · fowl · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 母鸡.
| 鸡蛋 | jīdàn | (chicken) egg; hen's egg |
| 母亲 | mǔqīn | mother |
| 父母 | fùmǔ | father and mother; parents |
| 字母 | zìmǔ | letter (of the alphabet) |
| 祖母 | zǔmǔ | father's mother; paternal grandmother |
| 公鸡 | gōngjī | cock; rooster |
| 母女 | mǔnǚ | mother and daughter; mother-daughter |
| 母子 | mǔzǐ | mother and child; parent and subsidiary (companies) |
| 伯母 | bómǔ | wife of father's elder brother; aunt |
| 继母 | jìmǔ | stepmother |
| 岳母 | yuèmǔ | wife's mother; mother-in-law |
| 鹤立鸡群 | hèlìjīqún | a crane in a flock of chicken (idiom); way above the common; manifestly superior |
Questions about 母鸡
What does 母鸡 mean?
母鸡 (mǔjī) means "hen; don't know (humorous slang mimicking Cantonese 唔知, Jyutping: m4 zi1)" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 母鸡?
母鸡 is made of 2 characters: 母 (5 strokes), 鸡 (7 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 母鸡 an HSK word?
Yes. 母鸡 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 母鸡 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 母鸡 is written 母雞.
What measure word is used with 母鸡?
Use 只 (zhī), as in 一只母鸡 (yì zhī mǔjī), one hen. This is the usual measure word for birds and many small animals.
Is it rude to answer someone with 母鸡 meaning "don't know"?
It is not rude, but it is playful slang. Use it with friends or online, and say 不知道 (bù zhīdào) in serious or formal situations.