鶏

See also: 鷄 and 雞

鶏 U+9D8F, 鶏 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-9D8F ← 鶎 [U+9D8E] CJK Unified Ideographs 鶐 → [U+9D90]

Translingual

Traditional	雞
Simplified	鸡
Japanese	鶏
Korean	鷄

Han character

鶏 (Kangxi radical 196, 鳥+8, 19 strokes, Cangjie input 月人竹日火 (BOHAF), composition ⿰⿱爫夫鳥)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: not present, would follow page 1494, character 10
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 47074
• Dae Jaweon: page 2024, character 8
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): not present, would follow volume 7, page 4641, character 14
• Unihan data for U+9D8F

Japanese

Shinjitai	鶏
Kyūjitai	鷄

Kanji

鶏

(Jōyō kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 鷄)

1. chicken
2. bird

Readings

• Go-on: け (ke)
• Kan-on: けい (kei, Jōyō)
• Kun: にわとり (niwatori, 鶏, Jōyō)^{←にはとり (nifatori, 鶏, historical)}、とり (tori, 鶏)、かけ (kake, 鶏)、くたかけ (kutakake)

Compounds

• 鶏(けい)冠(かん) (keikan, “cockscomb”)
• 鶏(けい)肉(にく) (keiniku, “chicken meat”)
• 烏(う)骨(こっ)鶏(けい) (ukokkei): silky, silkie (breed of chicken)
• 黄鶏(かしわ) (kashiwa): a Japanese native species of chicken with dark reddish-brown feathers; the meat thereof; chicken (meat)
• 水鶏(くいな), 秧鶏(くいな) (kuina, “rail, water rail”)
• 軍(ぐん)鶏(けい) (gunkei)
• 軍鶏(シャモ) (shamo, “gamecock”)
• 水(すい)鶏(けい) (suikei, “rail; water rail”)
• 矮鶏(チャボ) (chabo, “bantam”)
• 養(よう)鶏(けい) (yōkei, “poultry farming, chicken raising”)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
鶏
にわとり Grade: S
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
鷄 (kyūjitai) 雞

⟨nipa tu to₂ri⟩ → */nipatːəri/ → /nifatori/ → /niwatori/

Originally derived from the 枕詞 (makura kotoba, “pillow word”, an epithet as a poetic device) compound phrase 庭つ鳥 (niwa tsu tori), 庭 (niwa, “garden”) +‎ つ (tsu, Old Japanese possessive particle) +‎ 鳥 (tori, “bird”), used in Old Japanese poetry as an allusive introduction to kake, the older word for “chicken” (see below). The medial tsu disappeared over time, yielding modern Japanese niwatori.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) にわとり [nìwátórí] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɲ̟iβ̞a̠to̞ɾʲi]

Noun

鶏(にわとり) or 鶏(ニワトリ) • (niwatori) ^{←にはとり (nifatori)?}

1. a domesticated chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus)

   Synonyms: 臼辺鳥 (usubedori), 鳥 (tori)

   Hypernym: 雉 (kiji)

Usage notes

• As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ニワトリ (niwatori).

Derived terms

• 鶏人(にわとりびと) (niwatoribito)

Proverbs

• 鶏(にわとり)を割(さ)くに焉(いずく)んぞ牛(ぎゅう)刀(とう)を用(もち)いん (niwatori o saku ni izukun zo gyūtō o mochiin, “why chop a chicken with a meat cleaver? → don't exaggerate”)

Descendants

• → Ainu: ニヤトリ

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
鶏
かけ Grade: S
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
鷄 (kyūjitai) 雞

⟨kake₁⟩ → */kakʲe/ → /kake/

From Old Japanese, first attested in the Kojiki (712 CE).

Onomatopoeic of the sound made by a chicken. Compare English cluck or cock.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ka̠ke̞]

Noun

鶏(かけ) • (kake) 

1. a chicken (domesticated fowl)

   Synonym: 臼辺鳥 (usubedori)

   • 711–712, Kojiki, poem 2:

     [...]　爾波都登理(にはつとり)　迦祁(かけ)波那久(はなく)　[...] [Man'yōgana]

     [...]　庭(には)つ鳥(とり)　鶏(かけ)は鳴(な)く　[...] [Modern spelling]

     ...niwa tsu tori, kake wa naku...

     the garden bird, the chicken clucks

See also

• コケコッコー (kokekokkō, “cock-a-doodle-doo”)

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
鶏
くたかけ Grade: S
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
鷄 (kyūjitai)

First attested in The Tales of Ise of the early 900s. Possibly influenced by Ainu コタン.

Etymological details

Listed in various references as a compound of くた (kuta/kuda) +‎ 鶏 (kake, “chicken; rooster”). This word has also been spelled as くだかけ (kudakake).

The source of the initial kuta-/kuda- portion has been subject to debate. Several sources have attempted to give an etymology:

1. The Hikobae of 1847 and the Daigenkai derive kuta- as a word meaning "stinky", the root of 腐す (kutasu, “to rot, to spoil”, transitive) and related to 朽ちる (kuchiru, “to rot, to spoil”, intransitive).
2. The Kita-no-bezuihitsu, Meigentsū, and the Minakata-Kumakusu derive this from 百済鶏 (kudara-kake, literally “Baekje chicken”), saying that the chicken was imported from there.
3. The Wakun-no-Shiori derives kuta as an eastern word for "house". The same source also supposes a Sanskrit origin, transcribed as kukutaeshira, and also supposes it was derived from 管掛 (kuda-kake) from the way it has a good voice.
4. The Honchō Jigen derives this from kudo-kake, where kudo- means "a passing sound" and -kake means "to put on".
5. The Myōgoki derives kuda- from 数連 (kazutsura), while -kake is an onomatopoeic sound.

The "house" etymology seems the most likely, as this note appears in several manuscripts of The Tales of Ise, and Vovin (2021) identifies kuda- with Ainu コタン (kotan, “village”) (cf. English village and villa). He also identifies the poem in The Tales of Ise as being a hybrid Japanese-Ainu poem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kɯ̟ta̠ka̠ke̞]

Noun

鶏(くたかけ) • (kutakake) 

1. (archaic) a chicken (domesticated fowl)

   Synonym: 臼辺鳥 (usubedori)

Usage notes

• Occasionally seen with the reading くだかけ (kudakake).

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
鶏
とり Grade: S
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
鷄 (kyūjitai) 雞

From 鳥 (tori, “bird”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) とり [tòrí] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [to̞ɾʲi]

Noun

鶏(とり) • (tori) 

1. alternative spelling of 鳥 (tori): a chicken (domesticated fowl); chicken meat

Derived terms

• 鶏(とり)の空(そら)音(ね) (tori no sorane, “cock's false cry”)
• 鶏(と)冠(さか) (tosaka, “cockscomb”)
• 鶏(とり)肉(にく) (toriniku, “chicken meat”)

References

• “鶏”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[4] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026