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始祖鳥

简始祖鸟 · 繁始祖鳥

Mandarin · pinyin shǐ zǔ niǎo

archaeopteryx

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Characters in this entry

始: shǐ · begin, start; then, only then
祖: zǔ · ancestor, forefather; grandfather
鳥: niǎo · bird; Kangxi radical 196
鸟: niǎo · bird; Kangxi radical 196

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–3–3 · shi3 zu3 niao3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

始祖鳥 · find source passages ↗ · 始祖鸟 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ci2 zou2 niu5

Cantonese word readings for 始祖鳥. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(paleontology) archeopteryx

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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