How to Write 鸠 (jiū) — Meaning “Dove / Pigeon”

Imagine a pigeon sitting on a tree branch shaped like the number 9 (九), while the right side looks like a bird (鸟). This visual of a pigeon perched on a "nine"-shaped branch can help you recall both the sound jiū and the meaning "pigeon."

Write from left to right: first the left component 九 (three strokes: left-falling, horizontal bent hook, and a dot), then the right side 鸟 (five strokes: short left-falling, horizontal hook, dot, vertical fold hooks, and horizontal). A common mistake is writing the left component 九 too wide, which makes the character unbalanced—keep it narrow so the 鸟 radical has enough space.

Unlike 鸟 (niǎo, the general word for "bird"), 鸠 is a specific type of bird (dove/pigeon) and always includes the left phonetic component 九. Compared to 鸡 (jī, "chicken"), 鸠 has 九 on the left instead of 又, and its right side is the standard 鸟 radical, while 鸡 uses a simplified form of 鸟.

鸠 appears in the name 斑鸠 (bān jiū, "turtle dove") and in the idiom 鸠占鹊巢 (jiū zhàn què cháo), meaning "the dove occupies the magpie's nest"—used to describe someone taking over another's property or position. This idiom comes from an ancient belief that doves are too lazy to build their own nests, so it carries a slightly negative cultural connotation.

Common words containing 鸠 include: 斑鸠 (bān jiū) — Dove; Pigeon; 鸣鸠 (míng jiū) — Cooing dove; 鸠占鹊巢 (jiū zhàn què cháo) — The dove occupies the magpie's nest (to take over what belongs to others)..