[[Characters]] #Characters \ #Natural-World \ #Animals # 鸡 jī chicken ## Components [[又 (yòu)]] [[又 yòu]] [[鸟 niǎo]] [[鸟 (niǎo)]] ## Meaning Today, the character "鸡" (jī) primarily means "chicken" in modern Chinese. It refers to domestic fowl commonly raised for meat and eggs. ## History The character "鸡" (jī), originally a pictogram resembling a crowing rooster, has evolved into a compound ideogram. Its modern form emphasizes its bird-like nature. "鸡" refers to domestic fowl, particularly chickens. In ancient scripts, it combined a semantic element representing its form with a phonetic component. Many idioms today derive from stories involving chickens, often carrying ironic meanings. ## Evolution ### Oracular Script ![[鸡 jī - ora.svg]] ### Bronze Script ![[鸡 jī - bronce.svg]] ### Seal Script ![[鸡 jī - sello.svg]] ### Clerical Script ![[鸡 jī - cle.svg]] ### Regular Script ![[鸡 jī - reg.svg]]