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

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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

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)
• 軍(ぐん)鶏(けい) (gunkei)
• 水(すい)鶏(けい) (suikei, “rail; water rail”)
• 養(よう)鶏(けい) (yōkei, “poultry farming, chicken raising”)
• 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”)
• 軍鶏(シャモ) (shamo, “gamecock”)
• 矮鶏(チャボ) (chabo, “bantam”)

Etymology 1

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

Alternative spellings
鷄 (kyūjitai) 雞 ニワトリ

⟨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.

Noun

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.

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”)

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.

Noun

1. a chicken (domesticated fowl)
   • 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

   Synonym: 臼辺鳥 (usubedori)

Etymology 3

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

Alternative spelling
鷄 (kyūjitai)

From Old Japanese.

Compound of くた (kuta, root for numerous verbs, implying "low-grade, rotten, stinky") +‎ かけ (kake, “chicken”, see above). Literally “rubbish clucker”.

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.

Noun

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”).

Noun

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”)