General
Information is based on dictionaries and other sources. Pinyin readings reflect standard Mandarin usage; for some dialect alternative names it may be of little practical use, especially for South China. Many Korean glosses are highly tentative. Comments and corrections welcome.
The most common Chinese name for the oriole is 黄鹂 'yellow-oriole', which traditionally refers to the Black-naped Oriole Oriolus chinensis, a bird famed for its beautiful appearance and song. The character for 鹂 consists of the phonetic 丽 (meaning 'beautiful') on the left and the character 鸟 (meaning 'bird') on the right. The word 鹂 is not normally found on its own. Given its prominence in literature, there are a number of alternative names for the oriole, including 莺 'oriole', 黄莺 'yellow-oriole', 黄鸟 'yellow bird', and 仓庚 (or 鸧鹒) 'oriole'.
In the official naming of the oriolids, non-yellow species normally drop the word 'yellow' since the character 鹂 is sufficient to indicate the meaning in the written language. However, in the spoken language is effectively a single word, and some naming systems reflect this by using 'yellow oriole' for all species, including, for instance, 朱黄鹂 'vermilion yellow oriole'.
When the Japanese imported the character 莺 (鶯 in its traditional form), they used it for what they perceived as their own equivalent to the oriole, the uguisu or bush warbler, a member of the Sylviidae. This usage was imported back into Chinese, and now the term 莺 is officially applied to the warblers. (See How 莺 came to be used for the warblers under Japanese influence).
During the Ming Dynasty in China, the Black-naped Oriole (黄鹂 ) was depicted in 'Mandarin Squares' (known as 补子 ) attached to official uniforms of high-ranking bureaucrats. It was the insignia of rank for Grade Eight of civilian official.
莺 is used in traditional literary expressions like:
莺歌燕舞 'orioles sing and swallows dart' -- a scene of spring, peaceful and prosperous
莺声燕语 'trill of an oriole, song of a swallow' -- the sweet delicate voice of a woman
Species names
ABOUT THIS TABLE (Hover cursor to see) SCIENTIFIC & ENGLISH |
CHINESE |
EAST |
SOUTH | NORTH |
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| Oriolus | ||||||||
Latin |
English | Chinese |
Chinese (Taiwan) |
Other Ch |
Japanese |
Korean |
Vietnamese |
Mongolian |
Oriolus oriolus |
Eurasian golden oriole Golden oriole European golden oriole |
金黄鹂 (金黃鸝) 'golden oriole' |
金莺 (金鶯) 'golden oriole' |
ニシコウライウグイス (西高麗鴬) nishi kōrai uguisu 'western Korean warbler' |
Эгэл шаргач egel shargach 'common yellowish' Former official: Шаргач бялзуухай shargach byalzuukhai 'yellowish finch' |
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| Oriolus chinensis |
Black-naped oriole | 黑枕黄鹂 (黑枕黃鸝) 'black naped yellow oriole' |
(黄鹂) 黄鸝 'yellow-oriole' |
黄鹂 (黃鸝) 'yellow-oriole' (northern Chinese) 黄莺 (黃鶯) 'yellow oriole' (southern Chinese) 黄鸟 (黃鳥) 'yellow bird' 仓庚 (倉庚) or 鸧鹒 (鶬鶊) 'oriole' 莺 (鶯) 'oriole' (obsolete) 黄爪落 (黃爪落) 'yellow zhaoluo' |
コウライウグイス (高麗鴬) kōrai uguisu 'Korean warbler' |
꾀꼬리 kkoekkori 'oriole' |
Chim Vàng anh
Trung Quốc 'Chinese yellow oriole (bird)' |
Дорнын шаргач dorniŋ shargach 'eastern yellowish' Former official: Шаргуй бялзуухай shargui byalzuukhai 'shargui finch' |
| Oriolus xanthornus |
Black-hooded oriole Asian black-headed oriole Black-headed oriole | 黑头黄鹂 (黑頭黃鸝) 'black-headed yellow oriole' |
ズグロコウラウグイス (高麗鴬) zu-guro kōrai uguisu 'black-headed Korean warbler' |
Chim Vàng anh đầu đen 'black-headed yellow oriole (bird)' |
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| Oriolus trailli |
Maroon oriole | 朱鹂 (朱鸝) 'vermilion oriole' |
(朱鹂) 朱鸝 'vermilion oriole' |
栗色黄鹂 (栗色黃鸝) 'chestnut-coloured yellow oriole' (6) 朱黄鹂 (朱黃鸝) 'vermilion yellow oriole' |
ヒゴロモ (緋衣) hi-goromo 'scarlet robe' |
Chim Tử anh 'purple oriole (bird)' |
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| Oriolus mellianus |
Stresemann's maroon oriole Silver oriole Mell's maroon oriole |
鹊鹂 (鵲鸝) 'magpie oriole' (2, 4) 鹊色鹂 (鵲色鸝) 'magpie-coloured oriole' (1, 3, 5) |
鹊色黄鹂 (鵲色黄鸝) 'magpie-coloured yellow oriole' (6, 7) |
ギンイロヒゴロモ (銀色緋衣) gin-iro hi-goromo 'silver scarlet-robe' |
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