鷄
- chicken;
Etymology
A phono-semantic compound:
鳥 (조, “bird”) provides the meaning (a type of bird).
奚 (해, “how/what”) provides the sound.
In oracle bone script (甲骨文 jiǎgǔwén), the character already depicted a chicken.
Usage in Korean
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.
Alternative forms
雞 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.
鷄
닭
계
dak
gye
Kangxi radical:196, 鳥 + 10
Strokes:21
Unicode:U+9DC4
Cangjie input:
- 月大竹日火 (BKHAF)
Composition:
- ⿰ 奚 鳥