鹦

鸚

yīng

婴 + 鸟

Definitions

yīng (bound form) parrot

Etymology phono-semantic

bird

Semantic: 鸟 Phonetic: 婴

About

The character 鹦, traditionally written as 鸚, specifically denotes a parrot and typically appears in the compound 鹦鹉 (yīngwǔ). It is a phono-semantic compound: the phonetic component 嬰 (yīng, "infant") on the left suggests pronunciation, while the semantic radical 鳥 (niǎo, "bird") on the right classifies it as an avian term. The simplified form 鹦 retains this structure, replacing 鳥 with 鸟 and 嬰 with 婴 to reduce strokes while preserving the original logic. The character has consistently referred to this distinctive, colorful, and vocal bird.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

鹦鹉会学人说话。

Yīngwǔ huì xué rén shuōhuà.

Parrots can imitate human speech.

我喜欢那只彩色的鹦鹉。

Wǒ xǐhuān nà zhī cǎisè de yīngwǔ.

I like that colorful parrot.

动物园里有好几只鹦鹉。

Dòngwùyuán lǐ yǒu hǎo jǐ zhī yīngwǔ.

There are several parrots in the zoo.

这只聪明的鹦鹉学会了唱儿歌。

Zhè zhī cōngmíng de yīngwǔ xuéhuì le chàng érgē.

This clever parrot has learned to sing children's songs.

鹦鹉的羽毛比鸽子鲜艳得多。

Yīngwǔ de yǔmáo bǐ gēzi xiānyàn de duō.

Parrot's feathers are much brighter than pigeons'.

因为鹦鹉会说话，所以很多人养它。

Yīnwèi yīngwǔ huì shuōhuà, suǒyǐ hěn duō rén yǎng tā.

Because parrots can talk, many people keep them as pets.

如果你训练鹦鹉，它就能模仿各种声音。

Rúguǒ nǐ xùnliàn yīngwǔ, tā jiù néng mófǎng gè zhǒng shēngyīn.

If you train a parrot, it can imitate various sounds.

那只来自热带雨林的鹦鹉不仅外表华丽，而且智商很高。

Nà zhī láizì rèdài yǔlín de yīngwǔ bùjǐn wàibiǎo huálì, érqiě zhìshāng hěn gāo.

That parrot from the tropical rainforest is not only gorgeous in appearance but also very intelligent.

Related Characters

Component: 婴

Component: 鸟

鹦