鵝鳥(がちょう)

Writing

More commonly written in katakana as ガチョウ. The kanji 鵝鳥(がちょう) is rarely used in modern writing. In scientific or formal contexts, ガチョウ is standard.

Common collocations

• ガチョウの羽毛(うもう): goose down/feathers
• ガチョウの卵(たまご): goose egg
• ガチョウの肝臓(かんぞう): goose liver (used for foie gras)
• ガチョウを飼(か)う: to raise geese

Related birds

• 白鳥(はくちょう): swan
• 鴨(かも): duck
• 雁(がん) / 雁(かり): wild goose
• 七面鳥(しちめんちょう): turkey

Cultural note

Geese are not commonly raised in Japan, so ガチョウ appears more often in translated works (e.g., "Mother Goose" = マザーグース) and in food-related contexts (フォアグラ).