Hi, my name is Mojca. I am from Slovenia in Europe and I and I work as a student advisor at our Shanghai school.Chicken in Chinese 🐔 Types, Foods, Insults You Never Knew!
Chickens in Mandarin: Types, Foods, Insults, and More 🍗
Chicken in Chinese? You’re really scraping the barrel with your content aren’t you LTL?
Talking Chicken’s in Chinese is rather odd, but hear us out because there is a lot more to learn than you might expect!
How did this topic come about though – well we discover there is a thing called WORLD CHICKEN DAY! Yes seriously, it’s a thing.
When is World Chicken Day though?
World Chicken Day takes place on the 2nd Thursday of October every year, one day before World Egg Day!
Yes indeed, the chicken did indeed come before the egg after all!
Anyway, Chicken: a delicious meal, the 10th Chinese zodiac, and a lighthearted insult in Chinese culture. It’s versatility at its finest.
It’s an integral part of pretty much any and every cuisine (here’s a funny video on a brief history of the chicken), so this is a complete guide of everything chicken related in Chinese.
If we missed anything, let us know with a comment below!
The Many Different Types of Chicken
Popular Western Chicken Dishes
The Many Different Types of Chicken
OK so we know about the chicken but it’d be rude of us to ignore the friends of the chicken… here are some of them below.
| Type of Chicken | Chinese Translation | Chinese Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 鸡 | jī |
| Rooster | 公鸡 | gōngjī |
| Hen | 母鸡 | mǔjī |
| Chick | 鸡仔 | jīzǐ |
| Egg-laying chicken | 蛋鸡 | dàn jī |
| Broiler chicken | 肉食鸡 | ròushí jī |
| Free-range chicken | 土鸡 | tǔjī |
| Black chicken | 乌鸡 | wūjī |
Parts of a Chicken
We’ve already covered the human body parts in Chinese… now time to cover the chicken!
| Part of Chicken | Chinese Translation | Chinese Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Comb | 鸡冠 | jīguān |
| Beak | 鸡喙 | jī huì |
| Head | 鸡头 | jī tóu |
| Wing | 鸡翅膀 | jī chìbǎng |
| Legs or Thighs (drumsticks) | 鸡腿 | jītuǐ |
| Breast | 鸡胸 | jīxiōng |
| Feet | 鸡爪 | jī zhuǎ |
| Eggs | 鸡蛋 | jīdàn |
Popular Western Chicken Dishes in Chinese
Let’s translate some of those classics that you know and love in the western world.
We all love a chicken nugget or some saucy chicken wings after all!
| Dish | Chinese Translation | Chinese Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken nuggets | 鸡块 | jī kuài |
| Grilled chicken | 烤鸡 | kǎojī |
| Chicken wings | 鸡翅膀 | jī chìbǎng |
| Fried chicken | 炸鸡 | kǎojī |
| Chicken soup Chicken broth | 鸡汤 | jītāng |
| Chicken pot pie | 鸡锅饼 | jī guō bǐng |
| Chicken Alfredo | 阿尔弗雷多鸡 | Ā’ěr fú léi duō jī |
| Rotisserie chicken | 炸鸡 | kǎojī |
| Roast chicken | 炸鸡 | kǎojī |
| Chicken casserole | 砂锅鸡 | shāguō jī |
| Buffalo wings | 布法罗辣鸡翅 | Bù fǎ luō là jīchì |
| Chicken and waffles | 鸡肉和华夫饼 | jīròu hé huá fū bǐng |
| Barbecue chicken | 烧烤鸡 | shāokǎo jī |
| Vegetarian chicken (mock meat) | 素鸡 | sù jī |
Korean fried chicken in Chinese is called 韩式炸鸡 (Hánshì zhá jī).
Kebabs in Chinese is 烤肉串 (kǎoròu chuàn); this literally means “roasted meat skewers”.
You’ll notice that a lot of these dishes simply translate into 炸鸡 (kǎojī), which means “roast chicken”.
They aren’t really differentiated in Chinese as they are in English as these cooking methods are less common in China.
Chicken in Chinese Cuisine
Chicken is super popular in China and is included in a wealth of dishes.
Here are some of the best ones that we love!
| Dish in English | Chinese Name | Chinese Pinyin | Dish origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuliji roast chicken (Anhui roast chicken) | 符离集烧鸡 or 安徽烧鸡 | Fúlí jí shāojī (Ānhuī shāojī) | Anhui (eastern China); named after Fuli town |
| Henan roast chicken | 河南烧鸡 | Hénán shāojī | Henan (central china) |
| Liaoning smoked chicken (Goubangzi smoked chicken) | 辽宁熏鸡 or 沟帮子熏鸡 | Liáoníng xūnjī (Gōubāngzi xūnjī) | Liaoning (northern China); Goubangzi is a town |
| Dezhou braised chicken | 德州扒鸡 | Dézhōu bā jī | Shandong (eastern China); Dezhou is a city |
| Beggar’s chicken | 叫花子鸡 | jiàohuāzijī | Hangzhou, Zhejiang (eastern China) |
| Kung Pao chicken | 宫保鸡丁 | Gōngbǎo jīdīng | Sichuan (southwest China) |
| Chicken feet | 鸡爪子 | jī zhuǎzi | Not strictly Chinese |
| Chicken essence (chicken meat extract) | 鸡精 | jījīng | |
| Century eggs (not exclusively chicken eggs) | 皮蛋 | pídàn | Hunan (southern China) |
| Tea eggs | 茶蛋 | chá dàn | Zhejiang (eastern China) |
| General Tso’s Chicken | 左宗棠鸡 | zuǒ zōng táng jī | Maybe Taiwan, but more likely from America where it was popularized (it’s a Chinese-American dish). |
China has this thing called 中国四大名鸡 (Zhōngguó sì dà míng jī), which translates literally into China’s Four Famous Chickens.
It’s pretty much just four famous Chinese chicken dishes.
These four dishes are the first four from the chart above
- Anhui roasted chicken
- Henan roasted chicken
- Liaoning smoked chicken
- Dezhou braised chicken
The common factor is that they’re all famous, have some form of cultural significance, and taste good.
If you put “德州扒鸡” through Google Translate, you’re going to find that it translates into “Texas Braised Chicken”.
Texas in Chinese is 德州 (Dézhōu).
德州 is also a city in China’s Shandong province; 德州扒鸡 (Dezhou braised chicken) is decidedly not from Texas.
Words Related to Chickens
There are probably more words related to the chicken than you might imagine!
Here are some below:
| Word | Chinese Translation | Chinese Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Poultry/fowl | 家禽 | jiāqín |
| Bird | 鸟 | niǎo |
| Chicken feather | 鸡毛 | jīmáo |
| Meat | 肉 | ròu |
| Chicken coop | 鸡窝 | jīwō |
| Chicken farm | 鸡场 | jī chǎng |
| Farm | 农场 | nóngchǎng |
| Chicken pox | 水痘 | shuǐdòu |
| Chicken poop | 鸡屎 | jī shǐ |
| Marinate | 腌 | yān |
| Peking duck | 北京烤鸭 | Běijīng kǎoyā |
| Delicious | 好吃 | hǎochī |
Be careful of your tones! 好吃 (hǎochī) and 好吃 (hàochi) mean different things even though they’re just one tone apart.
好吃 (hǎochī, third tone) means delicious, e.g. “this chicken is delicious” (这只鸡很好吃).
好吃 (hàochi, fourth tone) means someone really likes to eat and may be a bit greedy, e.g. “he really likes to eat” (他很好吃).
Chicken-Related Restaurants
Now let’s focus on the most popular food chains in China that sell Chicken.
| Restaurant | Chinese Name/Translation | Chinese Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| KFC | 肯德基 | Kěndéjī |
| Popeyes | 博派斯 | Bópàisī |
| Dicos | 德克士 | Dékèshì |
| Home Original Chicken | 老乡鸡 | Lǎoxiāngjī |
Many well-known chicken-related restaurants such as Nando’s, Chick-fil-A, and Bojangles don’t have formal Chinese translations as they don’t have Chinese branches (yet).
Photo credit: Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Proverbs & Sayings Related to Chickens
DID YOU KNOW – there are even some fantastic Chinese proverbs that include chickens.
Learning Mandarin really is something truly unique!!
| Chinese Proverb/Saying | Chinese Pinyin | Literal Translation | Actual Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 呆若木鸡 | dāiruòmùjī | Dumb like a wooden chicken. | A blithering idiot. |
| 拿着鸡毛当令箭 | názhe jīmáo dāng lìngjiàn | Using a chicken feather as a warrant. | Making a fuss out of virtually nothing; assuming authoring off of something meaningless. |
| 杀鸡焉用牛刀 | shā jī yān yòng niúdāo | Why use a cleaver to kill a chicken | Don’t blow it out of proportion. |
| 指鸡骂狗 | zhǐ jī mà gǒu | Point at the chicken and curse the dog. | Scolding someone indirectly. |
| 鸡毛蒜皮 | jīmáosuànpí | Chicken feathers and garlic skins. | A trivial matter. |
| 杀鸡吓猴 (杀鸡给猴看) | shā jī xià hóu (shā jī gěi hóu kàn) | Kill the chicken to scare the monkey. | Punishing someone to warn others; to make an example of someone. |
| 偷鸡不成蚀把米 | tōu jī bù chéng shí bǎ mǐ | Trying to steal a chicken (unsuccessfully) and losing the rice used to lure it in. | Trying to take advantage only to be worse off than you started. |
| 鸡狗不如 (more common: 猪狗不如) | jī gǒu bùrú (zhū gǒu bùrú) | Worse than a chicken or dog. (Worse than pig or dog). | Lower than low; someone has extremely poor morals. |
| 鸡鸣狗盗 | jīmínggǒudào | Crowing like a rooster and stealing like a dog. | People who are up to mean and petty tricks. |
| 鸡飞蛋打 | jīfēidàndǎ | Chickens fly and eggs are smashed. | Nothing is left — all the chickens have flown away and all the eggs are cracked. |
| 鸡飞狗跳 | jī fēi gǒu tiào | Chickens flying and dogs jumping. | Chaotic. |
| 缩头乌龟 | suō tóu wūguī | A turtle that has retracted its head. | So this phrase doesn’t actually mention chickens, but you’re essentially calling someone a chicken and coward. |
Summary – there’s a proverb for everything!
Insults Related to Chickens
Perhaps the most interesting chapter of all.
Swear words related to chickens? Surely not?
Think again…!
| Insult in Chinese | Chinese pinyin | Literal translation | Actual meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 笨蛋 | bèndàn | Dumb egg. | An idiot. |
| 叫的响的鸡不下蛋 | jiào de xiǎng de jī bù xiàdàn | The chicken that screams won’t lay eggs. | Someone talks a lot but doesn’t do much work. |
| 呆若木鸡 | dāiruòmùjī | Dumb like a wooden chicken. | A blithering idiot. |
| 鸡狗不如 (more common: 猪狗不如) | jī gǒu bùrú (zhū gǒu bùrú) | Worse than a chicken or dog. (Worse than pig or dog). | Lower than low; someone has extremely poor morals. |
| 鸡鸣狗盗 | jīmínggǒudào | Crowing like a rooster and stealing like a dog. | People who are up to mean and petty tricks. |
Want to discover more swear words? We’ve delved deep and picked the best ten swear words in Shanghainese (plus two bonus ones also).
And that concludes our in-depth look at chickens in Chinese! You never quite realised how much you’d learn when opening this blog did you!
What do you think? Tell us below!
Chicken in Chinese — FAQs
How do I say chicken in Chinese?
Chicken in Chinese is 鸡 (jī).
When is World Chicken Day?
World Chicken Day takes place on the 2nd Thursday of October every year, one day before World Egg Day!
How do I say chicken in Cantonese?
Chicken in Cantonese is 雞 (gāi).
What is KFC called in China?
KFC is called 肯德基 (Kěndéjī) in China.
How do you say delicious in Chinese?
Delicious in Chinese is 好吃 (hǎochī).
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2 comments
how do I say Peking duck in Chinese?
Hi Jess, Peking duck in Chinese is 北京烤鸭 (Běijīng kǎoyā)
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