鸽 (gē): pigeon

Measure Word

一只鸽 zhī

Meanings

1 pigeon
2 dove

Characters

鸽

gē

pigeon; dove

Examples

广场上有很多鸽子在飞。

Guǎngchǎng shàng yǒu hěnduō gēzi zài fēi.

There are many pigeons flying in the square.

白鸽是和平的象征。

Báigē shì hépíng de xiàngzhēng.

The white dove is a symbol of peace.

Tips

usage

In internet slang, 鸽 is used as a verb meaning "to flake" or "to stand someone up" (from the expression 放鸽子, fàng gēzi). 鸽了 means "flaked/bailed."

Components

radical

鸟 niǎo

bird

Right 鸟 — pictograph of a bird with crest, wing, and feet, the indexing radical. Locks the species: 鸽 names the rock dove and its domesticated descendants, whose pair-bonding habits and white wedding-releases made them a long-standing symbol of peace and fidelity. Same radical heads 鸡, 鸭, 鹅, 鹰.

phonetic

合 hé

to close; to combine (here phonetic)

Left 合 supplies the sound — hé → gē via regular h/g alternation across this family (鸽 dove, 颌 jaw, 蛤 clam, 给 in its gěi reading). 合 shows a mouth under a roof, meaning 'close together' — a memory hook since pigeons are famously paired birds, mated for life and homing in pairs.