niu5鳥鸟

Jyutpingniu5

Yaleníuh

Common

Definition

Bird; a warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate with feathers, wings, and a beak.

neutralanimals

How it's used

While 鳥 is the standard term for bird, it is rarely used in daily spoken Cantonese when referring to specific types of birds. People almost always use the more specific name of the bird, such as 麻雀 for sparrow or 鸚鵡 for parrot. Using 鳥 alone can sound slightly formal or scientific, similar to how one might use the word avian in English.

Measure word

zek3隻jek

Examples

go2嗰zek3隻niu5鳥hou2好ci5似sau6受zo2咗soeng1傷，fei1飛m4唔juk1郁aa4呀。

That bird seems to be injured and cannot fly.

nei5你gin3見m4唔gin3見dou3到syu6樹soeng6上min6面jau5有zek3隻niu5鳥？

Do you see a bird up in the tree?

Common phrases

bird species

hau6候niu5鳥

migratory bird

Common mistake

Beginners often use 鳥 as a generic term in conversation, but it sounds unnatural. It is much better to use 雀 or 雀仔 when talking about birds in general, as 鳥 is typically reserved for biological classifications or literary contexts.