Definitions

used in 鸕鶿|鸬鹚[lú cí]
variant of 鶿|鹚[cí]

Etymology phono-semantic

bird

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character , a phono-semantic compound, is used exclusively to name a specific aquatic bird. Its traditional form combines the semantic bird radical with the phonetic component (pronounced 'ci'), placing it in the bird category while marking the sound. The character appears almost exclusively in the compound 鸬鹚, which translates to cormorant, a large diving bird traditionally trained for fishing in East Asia. This formation follows the common Chinese convention for bird names, pairing a meaning radical with a phonetic to distinguish the species.