Chinese word

笼子

Pronunciation

Pinyinlóng zi

Meaning

  • nouncage

Example

鸟儿在笼子里。niǎor zài lóng zi lǐ

The bird is in the cage.

Illustration for 笼子 (cage)

More examples

孩子把受伤的小鸟放进了笼子里，方便照顾。hái zi bǎ shòu shāng de xiáo niǎo fàng jìn le lóng zi lǐ fāng biàn zhào gù

The child put the injured little bird in the cage to make it easier to care for.

Core concept

A container with sides that prevent what is inside from moving freely, especially a bird or pet.

Common phrases

  • 破旧的笼子pò jiù de lóng zi

    worn-out cage

  • 笼子里的鸟lóng zi lǐ de niǎo

    bird in a cage

  • 把猎物放进笼子bǎ liè wù fàng jìn lóng zi

    put prey in a cage

Similar words

笼lóng: An enclosure made of bars or mesh that holds an animal or object inside.
鸟笼niǎo lóng: A barred or mesh cage used to keep a bird.

Definition in Chinese

把动物或物品围住以限制其活动的器具，常用于饲养或运输鸟类和宠物。bǎ dòng wù huò wù pǐn wéi zhù yǐ xiàn zhì qí huó dòng de qì jù cháng yòng yú sì yǎng huò yùn shū niǎo lèi hé chǒng wù

Word origin

笼 (lóng, "basket or cage") + 子 (zi, "noun-forming suffix") preserves the basic image of a basket-like enclosure, even when the cage is made of metal or plastic.

Usage tips

  • For location, the Chinese word for "inside" comes after the noun, so the usual pattern is noun plus "inside" rather than "inside" plus noun.

Other meanings

  • animal cagenoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word