鸡蛋
egg (chicken egg)
jīdàn
What does 鸡蛋 mean?
鸡蛋 (jīdàn) is the standard Chinese word for 'chicken egg' — built straight from 鸡 ('chicken') + 蛋 ('egg'). In everyday Chinese, when someone says 'egg' without specifying, they mean 鸡蛋 — chicken eggs are the default. For other birds, name the bird: 鸭蛋 (duck egg), 鹅蛋 (goose egg), 鹌鹑蛋 (quail egg). The bare word 蛋 is used in compounds and slang but rarely stands alone for 'a chicken egg' in conversation. Buy them at the supermarket sold individually (论个) or by the catty (论斤). Common preparations: 煮鸡蛋 (boiled), 炒鸡蛋 (scrambled), 煎鸡蛋 (fried), 茶叶蛋 (tea egg). One slang note: 蛋 alone has insulting uses (笨蛋 'idiot,' 坏蛋 'bad egg / villain'), so beginners should be careful — but 鸡蛋 itself is just the food.
Character breakdown
chicken
egg
Memory hook: Chicken (鸡) + egg (蛋) — Chinese tells you exactly what kind of egg by labeling the bird first.
Measure word for 鸡蛋
Example sentences
我每天早上吃一个鸡蛋。
Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang chī yí ge jīdàn.
I eat an egg every morning.
neutral
请给我两个煮鸡蛋。
Qǐng gěi wǒ liǎng ge zhǔ jīdàn.
Please give me two boiled eggs.
polite
妈妈做的西红柿炒鸡蛋很好吃。
Māma zuò de xīhóngshì chǎo jīdàn hěn hǎochī.
The tomato and scrambled eggs mom makes are delicious.
spoken
鸡蛋多少钱一斤？
Jīdàn duōshao qián yì jīn?
How much are eggs per catty?
spoken
家里没有鸡蛋了，我去买一些。
Jiā lǐ méiyǒu jīdàn le, wǒ qù mǎi yìxiē.
We're out of eggs at home — I'll go buy some.
spoken
Common phrases with 鸡蛋
Synonyms
蛋 alone is the generic 'egg' — used in compounds (鸭蛋 duck egg, 蛋糕 cake) but rarely the right standalone word for kitchen eggs. Use 鸡蛋 for chicken eggs in everyday speech.
Don't confuse 鸡蛋 with
鸭蛋 is a duck egg — bigger, richer, often salted. 鸡蛋 is the default chicken egg. Slang note: 考试得了鸭蛋 ('got a duck egg on the test') means scored a zero, because 0 looks like a duck egg.
蛋糕 is 'cake' (literally 'egg-cake'). Same 蛋 character but a totally different food. 鸡蛋 = the egg itself; 蛋糕 = the baked dessert.
笨蛋 ('stupid egg') is a mild insult meaning 'idiot.' Same 蛋, very different register. Be careful — 蛋 in slang is often pejorative.