公鸡

• Pinyin: gōng jī
• Hanzi breakdown: 公 = male (for animals); 鸡 = 又 + 鸟, simplified from traditional 雞, meaning chicken

Meaning

Rooster; cock. An adult male chicken.

The male counterpart to 母鸡 (hen). Associated with dawn (公鸡打鸣 rooster crowing at dawn) and is one of the twelve Chinese zodiac animals (鸡年 Year of the Rooster). In idioms: 闻鸡起舞 (rise at the cock's crow to practice — diligence). Also appears in 公鸡中的战斗机 (a humorous expression for someone exceptional).

Examples

1. 每天清晨，公鸡的打鸣声总是准时叫醒全村的人。 Every morning, the rooster's crowing always wakes up the whole village right on time.
2. 这只大公鸡羽毛鲜艳，走起路来威风凛凛。 This big rooster has brilliant feathers and struts around with an impressive air.
3. 小时候在农村，我最怕的就是那只爱啄人的大公鸡。 When I was a child in the countryside, what I feared most was that big rooster that loved to peck people.

Usage Guide

Context: animals, rural life, idioms

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 公鸡叫了，该起床了。(The rooster is crowing; time to get up.)
• 院子里养了一只公鸡。(There's a rooster raised in the yard.)

Don't Say

• 把所有鸡都叫公鸡 (Don't call all chickens 公鸡 — use 鸡 for chickens in general, 公鸡 only for males, 母鸡 for hens)

Origin & History

Compound of 公 (male, for animals) + 鸡 (chicken). 公 indicates male gender in animal names.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal