Chinese word

鸡

Pronunciation

Pinyinjī

Meaning

  • nounchicken

Example

妈妈买了一只鸡准备做饭。mā mā mǎi le yì zhī jī zhǔn bèi zuò fàn

Mom bought a chicken and got ready to cook.

Illustration for 鸡 (chicken)

More examples

孩子们喜欢早餐吃炒鸡蛋。hái zi men xǐ huān zǎo cān chī chǎo jī dàn

The children like to eat scrambled eggs for breakfast.

Core concept

A familiar farm bird that can also name food made from it.

Common phrases

  • 炒鸡蛋chǎo jī dàn

    scrambled eggs

  • 鸡肉jī ròu

    chicken meat

  • 烤鸡kǎo jī

    roast chicken

Similar words

鸡肉jī ròu: The meat of a chicken, used as food in many dishes.
鸡蛋jī dàn: An egg laid by a chicken and commonly eaten as food.

Definition in Chinese

家养的鸟类，常见的家禽之一，也常用来指其作为食材的肉或以其为主料的菜肴。jiā yǎng de niǎo lèi cháng jiàn de jiā qín zhī yī yě cháng yòng lái zhǐ qí zuò wéi shí cái de ròu huò yǐ qí wéi zhǔ liào de cài yáo

Word origin

鸡 (jī, "chicken") is the simplified form of 雞 (jī, "chicken"), whose 隹 (zhuī, "short-tailed bird") component marks a bird and whose 奚 (xī, "phonetic element") suggests the sound.

Usage tips

  • The measure word 只 (zhī, "classifier for animals") is the usual choice in 一只鸡 (yì zhī jī, "one chicken"), making this a useful phrase to learn as a whole.

Related words

Word lists with this word