Meaning of 鸡
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- fowl
- chicken
- (slang) prostitute
Measure word: 隻|只
- variant of 雞|鸡[ji1]
How to use 鸡
鸡 (jī) is the everyday word for chicken, and it combines with other words for specific meanings, such as 公鸡 (gōngjī, rooster), 母鸡 (mǔjī, hen) and 鸡肉 (jīròu, chicken meat). When ordering food, people usually say 鸡肉 or name the dish rather than using 鸡 alone. Example: 我想吃鸡蛋。(Wǒ xiǎng chī jīdàn.) I want to eat eggs.
Look at the two parts of 鸡: 又 (yòu) on the left and 鸟 (niǎo, bird) on the right. Picture a bird you see again and again in every farmyard, the chicken.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write the right side as 马 (mǎ, horse) instead of 鸟 (niǎo, bird). Remember that 鸟 has an extra dot inside and a longer hooked stroke, because a chicken is a bird. Also be careful with slang: 鸡 alone can mean prostitute, and 鸡巴 (jība) is a vulgar word, so use 鸡肉 when you mean the meat.
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.
鸡 jī · fowl · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 鸡.
| 鸡蛋 | jīdàn | (chicken) egg; hen's egg |
| 公鸡 | gōngjī | cock; rooster |
| 母鸡 | mǔjī | hen; don't know (humorous slang mimicking Cantonese 唔知, Jyutping: m4 zi1) |
| 鹤立鸡群 | hèlìjīqún | a crane in a flock of chicken (idiom); way above the common; manifestly superior |
| 鸡肉 | jīròu | chicken meat |
| 鸡巴 | jība | dick; penis (vulgar) |
| 火鸡 | huǒjī | turkey |
| 鸡尾酒 | jīwěijiǔ | (calque) cocktail |
| 小鸡 | xiǎojī | chick |
| 鸡鸡 | jījī | penis (childish) |
| 炸鸡 | zhájī | fried chicken |
| 小鸡鸡 | xiǎojījī | penis (child's word) |
Questions about 鸡
What does 鸡 mean?
鸡 (jī) means "fowl; chicken" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 鸡?
鸡 is made of 1 character: 鸡 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 鸡 an HSK word?
Yes. 鸡 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 鸡 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 鸡 is written 雞.
Does 鸡蛋 always mean a chicken egg?
Yes. 鸡蛋 (jīdàn) specifically means a hen's egg, and it is the default word for eggs in daily life. Other eggs get their own names, such as 鸭蛋 (yādàn) for duck eggs.
What does the idiom 鹤立鸡群 mean?
鹤立鸡群 (hèlìjīqún) literally means a crane standing among chickens. It describes someone who clearly stands out from the people around them, like 他在班上鹤立鸡群 (He stands out in his class).