Translingual

Han character

鶏 (radical 196 鳥+8, 19 strokes, cangjie input 月人竹日火 (BOHAF), composition ⿰⿱爫夫鳥)

References

• KangXi: not present, would follow page 1494, character 10
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 47074
• Dae Jaweon: page 2024, character 8
• Hanyu Da Zidian: not present, would follow volume 7, page 4641, character 14
• Unihan data for U+9D8F

Japanese

Kanji

(common “Jōyō” kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 鷄)

1. a chicken, a bird

Readings

• Goon: (rare) け (ke)
• Kan’on: けい (kei)
• Kun: にわとり (niwatori), (rare) とり (tori)

Compounds

Etymology 1

Originally derived from the 枕詞 ‎(makura kotoba, “pillow word”, an epithet as a poetic device) compound phrase niwa tsu tori, 庭 ‎(niwa, “garden”) +‎ つ ‎(tsu, possessive particle, analogous to modern Japanese の, no) +‎ 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.^[1]

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) にわとり [nìwátórí] (Heiban - [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [niɰᵝa̠to̞ɾi]

Alternative forms

• 雞

Noun

鶏 ‎(shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 鷄, hiragana にわとり, katakana ニワトリ, romaji niwatori, historical hiragana にはとり)

1. a chicken (a bird)

Synonyms

• 臼辺鳥 (うすべどり) ‎(usubedori)

Etymology 2

From Old Japanese. Onomatopoeic of the sound made by a chicken.^[1][2] Compare English cluck.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [ka̠ke̞]

Alternative forms

• 雞

Noun

鶏 ‎(shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 鷄, hiragana かけ, romaji kake)

1. a chicken (a bird)
   • 711-712, Kojiki (Kami tsu maki)

     爾波都登理　迦祁波那久

     庭つ鳥　鶏は鳴く

     にわつとり　かけはなく

     niwa tsu tori, kake wa naku

     the garden bird, the chicken clucks

Synonyms

• 臼辺鳥 (うすべどり) ‎(usubedori)

Etymology 3

From Old Japanese. Compound of くた ‎(kuta, root for numerous verbs, implying low-grade, rotten, stinky) +‎ かけ ‎(kake, “chicken”, see above).^[1]

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.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [kɯᵝta̠ka̠ke̞]

Noun

鶏 ‎(shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 鷄, hiragana くたかけ, romaji kutakake)

1. (archaic) a chicken (a bird)

Usage notes

Occasionally seen with the reading くだかけ (kudakake).^[1][2]

Synonyms

• 臼辺鳥 (うすべどり) ‎(usubedori)

References

1. 1 2 3 4 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 3 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9