鸿雁

鴻雁
hóngyàn
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 swan goose
  2. 2 wild goose
  3. 3 letter (from afar)

Examples

HSK 5
Qiūtiān dào le, yì qún hóngyàn wǎng nán fēiqù.
Autumn has come, and a flock of wild geese is flying south.
HSK 7-9
Tā zài yìxiāng, zhǐnéng kào hóngyàn yǔ jiārén hùtōng xiāoxi.
Far from home, he could only keep in touch with his family by letter.

Tips

culture
A poem in the 《诗经》 opens 鸿雁于飞 'the wild geese in flight'. In the story of 苏武, held captive by the Xiongnu, a Han envoy claimed that a goose had carried Su Wu's letter to the emperor, so 鸿雁 also means a letter, as in 鸿雁传书 'geese carry letters'.

Stroke Order

鸿 hóng
雁 yàn