鷄

A phono-semantic compound:

鳥 (조, “bird”) — provides the meaning (a type of bird)

奚 (해, “how/what”) — provides the pronunciation

The character literally denotes a specific kind of bird, namely the domestic chicken.

In oracle bone script (甲骨文), the character already depicted a chicken.

계란 (鷄卵) — egg

계육 (鷄肉) — chicken meat

양계 (養鷄) — poultry farming

닭띠 (鷄띠) — the Year of the Rooster (zodiac)

鷄 is the 10th animal of the East Asian zodiac.

It symbolizes:

- dawn and vigilance (rooster crowing)

- punctuality

- awakening and alertness

In classical East Asian culture, the rooster’s crow was associated with:

- driving away darkness

- moral vigilance

- proper daily order

Related characters:

鳥 — bird

鳳 — phoenix

鴨 — duck

鴻 — wild goose

卵 — egg

鷄 is one of the basic characters taught in HSK Level 1 (beginner Chinese proficiency).

While it primarily means “chicken,” it is also used euphemistically in Chinese to refer to the male genitalia, instead of the vulgar word 屌.

雞 (U+96DE) is a variant form using 隹 (짧은 꼬리 새, small bird) as the semantic component.

In Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other regions using traditional characters, 雞 is the standard form.