隹 (zhuī) · short-tailed bird

Meanings

1 short-tailed bird
2 indexing radical for bird-related characters (Kangxi #172)

Characters

隹

zhuī

short-tailed bird

Examples

HSK 6

古人称短尾鸟为隹，长尾鸟为鸟。

Gǔrén chēng duǎn wěi niǎo wèi zhuī, cháng wěi niǎo wèi niǎo.

The ancients called short-tailed birds 隹 and long-tailed birds 鸟.

HSK 7-9

隹是许多与鸟有关汉字的部首。

Zhuī shì xǔduō yǔ niǎo yǒuguān hànzì de bùshǒu.

隹 is the radical of many bird-related characters.

Tips

register

隹 is not used as a standalone word in modern Chinese - you only meet it as a radical inside characters.

memory

Highly productive on the right side of compounds: 雀 (sparrow), 集 (gather, originally birds on a tree), 雄 (male), 雌 (female), 雕 (carve / vulture), 难 (difficult), 谁 (who). When you spot 隹, look for a bird, an old bird-derived metaphor, or a phonetic borrowing.

Components

pictograph

隹 zhuī

short-tailed bird

Pictograph of a short-tailed bird in profile - head, body, two wing strokes, and a stubby tail. Itself Kangxi radical #172 and the building block behind the perched-bird family: 雀 (sparrow), 雁 (wild goose), 雕 (hawk), 雄 (male), 雌 (female), 集 (gather, originally birds in a tree). Distinct from 鸟, which pictures a long-tailed bird; 隹 always names the small stubby-tailed kind.

Radical

Short-Tailed Bird Kangxi #172

The short-tailed-bird radical. A pictograph of a perched short-tailed bird in profile. The Shuowen contrasts 隹 (short-tail) with 鳥 (long-tail), but the two slots have largely merged in modern usage. Highly productive: 雀, 集, 雄, 雌, 雕, 难, 谁, 雇, 雅, 雍. One of the strongest 'this character relates to a bird' cues.