鵮 (qiān) - To peck with the beak & to bite (as insects)

鵮Tone 1

qiān ｜ 19 strokes ｜ radical:

器情

鵮 · qiān

To peck with the beak;

to bite (as insects);

to snap at.

To peck with the beakto bite (as insects)to snap at.

Usage highlights

Chicken peckingBird peckingMosquito biteInsect bitePeck at grainPeck at food

Synonyms

  • 啄— to peck (more standard term for birds)
  • 咬— to bite (general term for biting)

Antonyms

  • 吐— to spit out

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The chicken pecked at the grain (鸡鵮米).
  • The mosquito bit me (蚊子鵮了我).
  • The crab snapped at my finger (螃蟹鵮了我的手指).

Collocations

  • Chicken pecking(鸡鵮)
  • Bird pecking(鸟鵮)
  • Mosquito bite(蚊子鵮)
  • Insect bite(虫子鵮)
  • Peck at grain(鵮米)
  • Peck at food(鵮食)

Idioms

  • Like a chicken pecking at rice — continuous, small actions(鸡鵮米似的)
  • A dog that bites doesn't show its teeth — deceptive danger(咬人的狗不露齿, related concept)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Primarily used in dialectal or descriptive contexts for animal/insect biting/pecking behavior.
  • Often appears in folk sayings and children's stories depicting animal interactions.
  • Considered a vivid, onomatopoeic character conveying the action of pecking or biting.

FAQ