無翼鳥 / 无翼鸟
wúyìniǎo
In Chinese, the English word "kiwi" can refer to either a bird or a fruit and several different terms are used depending on the context. If unsure, use 無翼鳥 / 无翼鸟 (wúyìniǎo). Wiktionary also lists 鷸鴕 / 鹬鸵 (yùtuó) and 幾維鳥 / 几维鸟 (jīwéiniǎo).
Meaning: bird (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 無翼鳥 / 无翼鸟 | wúyìniǎo |
| 鷸鴕 / 鹬鸵 | yùtuó |
| 幾維鳥 / 几维鸟 | jīwéiniǎo |
| 奇異鳥 / 奇异鸟 | qíyìniǎo |
| 奇威鳥 / 奇威鸟 | qíwēiniǎo |
When referring to the fruit, the terms 猕猴桃 or 奇异果 are used in formal contexts.
Which one should you use?
The terms for the bird include 無翼鳥 / 无翼鸟, 鷸鴕 / 鹬鸵, 幾維鳥 / 几维鸟, 奇異鳥 / 奇异鸟 and 奇威鳥 / 奇威鸟. For the fruit, use 猕猴桃 or 奇异果 in formal settings. Note that the character 桃 within the fruit term means peach.
How do you pronounce it?
wúyìniǎo
Did you know?
- The term 猕猴桃 (míhóutáo), often used for the fruit, literally translates to 'macaque peach'.
- One way to say the bird, 鷸鴕 (lǘtuó), combines the characters for 'snipe' and 'ostrich' to describe its appearance.
- The word 奇異果 used for the fruit means 'strange fruit', mirroring the 'strange bird' meaning of 奇異鳥.
Examples in context
- 在这家餐厅，他们供应美味的猕猴桃汁。In this restaurant, they serve delicious kiwi juice.
- 我今天早上吃了一个奇异果儿。I had a kiwi this morning.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “kiwi” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
