鹪 (jiāo): (in 鹪鹩) wren

Meanings

鹪鹩是一种很小却很活泼的鸟。

Jiāoliáo shì yì zhǒng hěn xiǎo què hěn huópo de niǎo.

The wren is a tiny but very lively little bird.

鹪鹩筑巢只需一根树枝。

Jiāoliáo zhùcháo zhǐ xū yì gēn shùzhī.

A wren needs only a single branch to make its nest.

history

鹪 appears only in 鹪鹩 (wren). The 庄子 uses the wren nesting on one branch as an image of being content with little.

radical

鸟 niǎo

bird

The bird radical fixes the category: 鹪 is always part of a bird's name, specifically the small wren.

phonetic

焦 jiāo

scorched; anxious

Supplies the reading jiāo with no meaning input; it simply provides the sound for this bird name.

鹪 jiāo