Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

fowl; chicken

Chinese: 鸡这种家禽。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “ji” becomes a different word in each tone. 鸡 is the 1st tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.

Stroke Order

Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.

Common Words

  • 鸡蛋jī dàn(chicken) egg; hen's egg
  • 公鸡gōng jīcock; rooster
  • 母鸡mǔ jīhen; don't know
  • 鹤立鸡群hè lì jī qúna crane in a flock of chicken (idiom); way above the common; manifestly superior
  • 鸡年jī niánYear of the Cock (e.g. 2005)

Example Sentence

农场里养了很多鸡。Nóng chǎng lǐ yǎng le hěn duō jī.The farm raises many chickens.

农场Nóng chǎngfarminsideyǎngto raise (animals)le(completed action)hěnveryduōmanyfowl

Go deeper

Where this character comes from

A bird (鸟, meaning) with 又 on the left: the bird we keep as a ‘chicken’. Simplified from 雞.

A way to remember it

A bird (鸟) raised in the yard — a chicken.

Easy to confuse with

  • niǎo‘Bird’: the meaning part of 鸡 on its own — birds in general.