About
The character "鸠" originally denoted a type of bird, specifically a pigeon or dove, with its structure clearly reflecting this meaning through the semantic component "鸟" (bird) combined with the phonetic component "九" (jiǔ), which historically indicated its pronunciation. Over centuries, while retaining its primary ornithological reference, the character developed an extended verbal meaning, "to assemble" or "to gather", a semantic shift likely derived from the observed flocking behavior of these birds, leading to historical usage in texts to describe the act of collecting people or things. This dual usage, both as a noun for the bird and a verb for gathering, demonstrates how the character's application expanded within the language while its fundamental graphical composition remained consistent.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
树上停着一只鸠。
鸠的羽毛很漂亮。
那只鸠在草地上觅食。
斑鸠是一种常见的鸟。
清晨，鸠的叫声很悦耳。
公园里有很多斑鸠在散步。
鸠通常以种子和昆虫为食。
由于环境变化，鸠的栖息地正在减少。