鸟
bird
niǎo
What does 鸟 mean?
鸟 (niǎo) is the general noun for 'bird' — any feathered, winged creature, from sparrows and pigeons to eagles and parrots. It's the standard word in everyday speech, writing, and science (鸟类 = the bird class of animals). The character is a pictograph: the original form drew a bird in profile with eye, beak, body, and tail.
Two notes for learners: first, the measure word is almost always 只 (一只鸟 = one bird); 群 is used for a flock. Second, in very casual or vulgar speech, 鸟 can appear in slang and even as a mild swear in some regional usage, but in standard Mandarin it's a neutral, child-friendly word. For specific birds, Chinese typically uses two-character names: 麻雀 (sparrow), 鸽子 (pigeon), 老鹰 (eagle), 鹦鹉 (parrot).
Character breakdown
bird (pictograph of a bird in profile)
Memory hook: The character 鸟 still looks like a tiny bird — head on top, body in the middle, foot at the bottom.
Measure word for 鸟
Example sentences
树上有一只小鸟。
Shù shàng yǒu yì zhī xiǎo niǎo.
There's a little bird in the tree.
spoken
我喜欢早上听鸟叫。
Wǒ xǐhuan zǎoshang tīng niǎo jiào.
I like listening to birds chirping in the morning.
neutral
这只鸟会说话。
Zhè zhī niǎo huì shuōhuà.
This bird can talk.
spoken
天上飞着很多鸟。
Tiān shàng fēizhe hěn duō niǎo.
There are many birds flying in the sky.
neutral
小鸟从笼子里飞出来了。
Xiǎo niǎo cóng lóngzi lǐ fēi chūlái le.
The little bird flew out of the cage.
neutral
Common phrases with 鸟
Synonyms
禽 is the literary/scientific term, mostly seen in compounds like 家禽 (poultry) and 飞禽 (birds of the air). 鸟 is the everyday word. Never use 禽 alone in conversation.
Don't confuse 鸟 with
乌 means 'crow / black' and looks almost identical to 鸟 but without the dot inside. 乌鸦 = crow, 乌云 = dark cloud. Mixing them up is a classic handwriting mistake — 鸟 has the dot (the eye), 乌 doesn't.
岛 means 'island' and contains 鸟 on top of 山 (mountain) — an island is a mountain where birds land. Different word, different pronunciation. Don't confuse the components.
FAQ
Acquire by listening
Hear 鸟 in real Chinese, not in a flashcard.
Fluentide picks the next news episode at your level, so this word shows up again and again in real sentences. Pinyin, translation, and the episode where you heard it — every time. Free to start, no card.