鸽

鴿
gē
noun #17,580

Measure Word

一只鸽 zhī

Meanings

  1. 1 pigeon
  2. 2 dove

Examples

HSK 5
Guǎngchǎng shàng yǒu hěnduō gēzi zài fēi.
There are many pigeons flying in the square.
HSK 6
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). 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
Left 合 supplies the sound - hé to 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.

Stroke Order

鸽 gē