Chinese word

鸟

Pronunciation

Pinyinniǎo

Meaning

  • nounbird

Example

这只鸟很漂亮。zhè zhǐ niǎo hěn piào liàng

This bird is very beautiful.

Illustration for 鸟 (bird)

More examples

早上我在窗外听到鸟叫。zǎo shàng wǒ zài chuāng wài tīng dào niǎo jiào

This morning, I heard a bird calling outside the window.

Core concept

A feather-covered animal has wings and a beak, whether it flies or stays on the ground.

Common phrases

  • 看见鸟kàn jiàn niǎo

    see a bird

  • 听到鸟叫tīng dào niǎo jiào

    hear a bird calling

  • 飞过的鸟fēi guò de niǎo

    bird that flew by

Similar words

动物dòng wù: A living creature that moves on its own.
小鸟xiáo niǎo: A feathered, winged animal that is small or not fully grown.
鸟儿niǎor: A warm, informal term for a feathered, winged animal.
鸟类niǎo lèi: A classification that groups feathered, winged animals by kind.

Definition in Chinese

有羽毛和两翼的脊椎动物总称，包括会飞和不会飞的各种鸟类。yǒu yǔ máo hé liǎng yì de jǐ zhuī dòng wù zǒng chēng bāo kuò huì fēi hé bú huì fēi de gè zhǒng niǎo lèi

Word origin

鸟 (niǎo, "bird") began as a picture of a bird in ancient Chinese writing, and its modern form is a shortened version of that picture.

Usage tips

  • The measure word 只 (zhī, "animal classifier") commonly comes before 鸟 (niǎo, "bird") when counting, so number phrases place the classifier before the noun.

Related words

  • 鸟蛋niǎo dànbird's eggnoun
  • 鸟叫niǎo jiàobird callnoun

Word lists with this word