牛郎星

Niúlángxīng
proper noun #60,265

Meanings

  1. 1 Altair, the brightest star in Aquila and the Cowherd of Chinese legend

Examples

HSK 6
Xiàtiān de wǎnshang, yínhé dōngbian nà kē hěn liàng de xīng jiùshì Niúlángxīng.
On summer nights, the bright star on the east side of the Milky Way is Altair.
HSK 7-9
Niúlángxīng hé Zhīnǚxīng gé zhe yínhé yáoyáo xiāngduì.
Altair and Vega face each other from afar across the Milky Way.

Tips

culture
In the legend of 牛郎织女, the Cowherd is parted from the Weaver Girl (织女星, Vega) by the Milky Way and may cross it only on 七夕. The two faint stars on either side of Altair are said to be the children he carries in baskets on a shoulder pole. Its other names are 牵牛星 and the formal 河鼓二.

Stroke Order

牛 niú
郎 láng
星 xīng