鸣鸠

鳴鳩

míngjiū

noun

Measure Word

一只鸣鸠 zhī

Meanings

1 turtledove
2 calling dove (literary term for various Streptopelia species)

Characters

to call (of birds); to cry

dove; turtledove

Examples

春雨过后，鸣鸠在林间啼叫。

Chūn yǔ guò hòu, míngjiū zài lín jiān tíjiào.

After the spring rain, turtledoves cooed among the trees.

古人常以鸣鸠入诗。

Gǔrén cháng yǐ míngjiū rù shī.

Ancient poets often wrote of the calling dove.

Tips

culture

A literary, classical name for the 斑鸠 bānjiū (turtledove). Its repetitive call signaled spring rain in old poetry — 《诗经》's《小雅·小宛》has '宛彼鸣鸠，翰飞戾天'. Today most speakers just say 斑鸠.

Stroke Order

鸣 míng

鸠 jiū