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金丝燕

jīn sī yàndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
Aerodramus, genus of birds that use echolocation, a subset of the Collocaliini tribe (swiflets), two of whose species – Aerodramus fuciphagus and Aerodramus maximus – build nests harvested to make bird's nest soup
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-cde5445268d3f845. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

金絲燕 金丝燕 [jin1 si1 yan4] /Aerodramus, genus of birds that use echolocation, a subset of the Collocaliini tribe (swiflets), two of whose species – Aerodramus fuciphagus and Aerodramus maximus – build nests harvested to make bird's nest soup/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 金絲燕

  • 金
    jīn

    gold / chemical element Au / generic term for lustrous and ductile metals / money / golden / highly respected / one of the eight categories of ancient musical instruments 八音[bā yīn]

    Jīn

    surname Jin / surname Kim (Korean) / Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234)

  • 丝
    sī

    silk / thread-like thing / (cuisine) shreds or julienne strips / classifier: a trace (of smoke etc), a tiny bit etc

  • 燕
    yàn

    swallow (family Hirundinidae)

    Yān

    Yan, a vassal state of Zhou in present-day Hebei and Liaoning / north Hebei / the four Yan kingdoms of the Sixteen Kingdoms, namely: Former Yan 前燕[Qián Yān] (337–370), Later Yan 後燕|后燕[Hòu Yān] (384–409), Southern Yan 南燕[Nán Yān] (398–410), Northern Yan 北燕[Běi Yān] (409–436) / surname Yan

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.