Chicken | 鸡(jī) | 鸟(niăo) gives the meaning hint. At least with this character (鸟) you can guess that it is some sort of bird depending on the context it is used. |
Duck | 鸭 (yā) | Sound-Meaning character 甲(jiā) gives the sound and 鸟(niăo) gives the meaning hint |
Cow or ox/Beef | 牛(níu)/ 牛肉(níu ròu) | This character is just a picture of a cow, I imagine this as a cow with only one horn on the left. By adding the 肉character we get beef. This can be imagined as meat hanging on a rack or as zhongwen.com definition, an open carcass. |
Pig/Pork | 猪(zhū)/ 猪肉(zhū ròu) | Meaning-sound character 豕(shĭ) actually means pig, but isn't used alone anymore while 者(zhĕ) gives the sound |
Lamb/Mutton | 羊(yáng)/羊肉(yáng ròu) | This character is just a picture of a lamb, notice the two horns on top? |
So if you memorise this your should be able to know at least what meats are on the menu. Better than nothing :) Tomorrow let's try to go through some seafood words. Yum ;)
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