鶏

See also: 鷄 and 雞

Translingual

Han character

鶏 (radical 196 鳥+8, 19 strokes, cangjie input 月人竹日火 (BOHAF))

1. chicken, fowl, poultry

References

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

---

Japanese

Kanji

鶏

(common “Jōyō” kanji, shinjitai kanji)

1. a chicken, a bird

Readings

• Goon: (rare) け (ke)
• Kan’on: けい (kei)
• Kun: にわとり (niwatori), (rare) とり (tori)

Etymology 1

Originally derived from the 枕詞 (makura kotoba, “pillow word”, an epithet as a poetic device) compound phrase niwa tsu tori, 庭 (niwa, “garden”) +‎ つ (tsu, possessive particle, analogous to modern Japanese の, no) +‎ 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

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [niɰᵝa̠to̞ri]

Alternative forms

• 雞

Noun

鶏 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 鷄, hiragana にわとり, historical hiragana にはとり, romaji niwatori)

1. a chicken (a bird)

Synonyms

• 臼辺鳥 (うすべどり, usubedori)

Etymology 2

From Old Japanese. Onomatopoeic of the sound made by a chicken: compare to English cluck.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [ka̠ke̞]

Alternative forms

• 雞

Noun

鶏 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 鷄, hiragana かけ, romaji kake)

1. a chicken (a bird)
   • 711-712: Kojiki (Kami tsu maki)

     爾波都登理　迦祁波那久

     庭つ鳥　鶏は鳴く

     にわつとり　かけはなく

     niwa tsu tori, kake wa naku

     the garden bird, the chicken clucks

Synonyms

• 臼辺鳥 (うすべどり, usubedori)

Etymology 3

From Old Japanese. Compound of くた (kuta, root for numerous verbs, implying low-grade, rotten, stinky) +‎ かけ (kake, “chicken”, see above).

Formerly a derogatory term for a chicken. Over time, the derogatory sense was lost, and the term instead took on an old-fashioned or archaic sense.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [kɯᵝta̠ka̠ke̞]

Noun

鶏 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 鷄, hiragana くたかけ, romaji kutakake)

1. (archaic) a chicken (a bird)

Usage notes

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

Synonyms

• 臼辺鳥 (うすべどり, usubedori)