鳥

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 空に鳥が飛んでいます。▶ —
   A bird is flying in the sky.
2. 焼き鳥が大好きです。▶ —
   I love yakitori (grilled chicken skewers).

Collocations

Mnemonic

鳥 tori — birds in general, and "chicken" in culinary contexts (鶏肉, 焼き鳥). Subtle split: 鳥 covers birds generally and cooked chicken, while 鶏 narrows to domestic chicken. 焼き鳥 (yakitori) is the centerpiece of Japanese 居酒屋 (izakaya), with cuts more granular than Western analogues — もも (thigh), 胸 (breast), 皮 (skin), 軟骨 (cartilage), ハツ (heart). 七面鳥 (shichimenchou, turkey) = "seven-faced bird", named for the color-shifting head. Compound kanji intuitively encode animal naming.

Quick check

1. Etymological reasoning behind 七面鳥 (turkey)?

   • Head skin shifts through seven color states when excited
   • Seven faces (mythic bird)
   • Seven toes
   • July bird