禽 (qín): (bound form) birds, fowl, (literary) birds and animals
禽 (qín) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) birds.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 人 (structural) and 离 (structural). It ranks #2460 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 禽 a legendary beast 离 captured by a man 人. Its radical form 禸 (track) appears in many related characters such as 离 (lí, to leave).
Definitions
- (bound form) birds
- fowl
- (literary) birds and animals
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA legendary beast 离 captured by a man 人
Decomposition: ⿱人离 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 禽 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 禽兽noun | qín shòu | birds and animals |
| 猛禽noun | měng qín | bird of prey |
| 家禽noun | jiā qín | poultry |
| 禽流感noun | qín liú gǎn | bird flu |
| 禽类 | qín lèi | bird species |
| 飞禽noun | fēi qín | birds |
| 飞禽走兽phrase | fēi qín zǒu shòu | (idiom) birds and animals |
| 水禽noun | shuǐ qín | waterfowl |
| 禽蛋noun | qín dàn | bird eggs |
| 禽鸟noun | qín niǎo | birds |
| 鸣禽noun | míng qín | songbird |
| 禽兽不如phrase | qín shòu bù rú | worse than a beast |
| 捕禽人 | bǔ qín rén | birdcatcher |
| 良禽择木phrase | liáng qín zé mù | a fine bird chooses a tree to nest in (proverb) |
| 良禽择木而栖proverb | liáng qín zé mù ér qī | a fine bird chooses a tree to nest in (proverb) |
禽 appears in 24 compound words: 33 as the first character, 42 as the last, and 25 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 禽 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
beast in human attire; gentleman in appearance but a beast in conduct; immoral or despicable person
beast in human attire; gentleman in appearance but a beast in conduct; immoral or despicable person
Example Sentences
老师教我们禽字的发音和笔顺。
lǎo shī jiào wǒ men qín zì de fā yīn hé bǐ shùn .
The teacher taught us the pronunciation and stroke order of the character "禽."
独/猛禽游隼飞失1周跨42公里神奇返家瘦一半!专...
dú měng qín yóu 隼 fēi shī 1 zhōu kuà 4 2 gōng lǐ shén qí fǎn jiā shòu yī bàn ! zhuān . . .
Exclusive: Peregrine Falcon Goes Missing for a Week, Travels 42 Kilometers, and Miraculously Returns Home Half Its Original Weight! Special...
首例禽传人“H7N7流感病毒” 疾管署:未发展...
shǒu lì qín chuán rén H 7 N 7 liú gǎn bìng dú jí guǎn shǔ : wèi fā zhǎn . . .
First Case of Avian-to-Human Transmission of the "H7N7 Influenza Virus"; CDC: No Complications...
五禽戏 vs 八段锦:别瞎练!你是“猛虎”还...
wǔ qín xì v s bā duàn jǐn : bié xiā liàn ! nǐ shì měng hǔ hái . . .
Five Animal Exercises vs. Eight Brocades: Don’t Just Practice Blindly! Are You a “Fierce Tiger” or...
禽源流感如何传人?浙大团队揭示病毒跨物种传...
qín yuán liú gǎn rú hé chuán rén ? zhè dà tuán duì jiē shì bìng dú kuà wù zhǒng chuán . . .
How is avian influenza transmitted to humans? The Zhejiang University team revealed that the virus spreads across species...
F-22 终极形态,洛马首度公开“猛禽 2.0”概念模型
F 2 2 zhōng jí xíng tài , 洛 mǎ shǒu dù gōng kāi měng qín 2 . 0 gài niàn mó xíng
The ultimate form of the F-22, Loma unveiled the "Raptor 2.0" concept model for the first time
良禽择木而栖，贤臣择主而事。
Liángqínzémù'érqī, xián chén zé zhǔ ér shì.
A prudent bird chooses its tree. A wise servant chooses his master.
苍鹭是一种涉禽。
Cānglù shì yīzhǒng shè qín.
The heron is a wading bird.
Character Family
禸 Radical Family — Characters sharing the track radical
Related Characters
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 禽 (qín) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 禽 have?
What is the radical of 禽?
What are the components of 禽?
What are common words containing 禽?
What characters sound the same as 禽 (qín)?
Is 禽 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 禽 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.