鸡 (jī) is a Chinese character meaning “chicken”. It is written from 又 (again) and 鸟 (bird), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “chicken”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
又 + 鸟
Left–right structure
Structure from: ids-decomposition (⿰又鸟；与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数核对：又 2 + 鸟 5 = 7)
Memory aid
又 (again) next to 鸟 (bird): the bird you run into again and again — in the yard, in the market, on your plate. That's the chicken.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 鸡蛋jī dàn(chicken) egg鸡 = jī
- 鸡肋jī lèichicken ribs — something of little value that one is still reluctant to give up鸡 = jī
- 鸡冠jī guāncockscomb (a rooster's comb)鸡 = jī
- 鸡皮疙瘩jī pí gē dagoose bumps鸡 = jī
Go deeper
All readings
chicken
chicken; fowl
家禽的一种，会打鸣、能下蛋，肉和蛋都可食用。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 鸡蛋jī dàn(chicken) egg鸡 = jī
- 鸡肋jī lèichicken ribs — something of little value that one is still reluctant to give up鸡 = jī
- 鸡冠jī guāncockscomb (a rooster's comb)鸡 = jī
- 鸡皮疙瘩jī pí gē dagoose bumps鸡 = jī
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 鸡 mean?
鸡 (jī) means chicken; fowl.
How do you pronounce 鸡?
It is pronounced jī.
What parts is 鸡 made of?
又 (again) and 鸟 (bird), side by side. The recorded source is: ids-decomposition (⿰又鸟；与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数核对：又 2 + 鸟 5 = 7). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 鸡 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 鸡?
鸟. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 鸡?
Common ones are 鸡蛋 and 鸡肋. The reading of 鸡 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.