牛 (niú): cow; ox; bull; cattle

Measure Word

一头牛 tóu

Meanings

1 cow; ox; bull; cattle
2 awesome; impressive
3 stubborn

Characters

牛

niú

cow; ox; cattle

A pictograph of an ox head with horns. In slang, 牛 means "awesome" or "impressive."

Examples

HSK 1

你太牛了！

Nǐ tài niú le!

You're awesome!

HSK 2

牛肉面很好吃。

Niúròumiàn hěn hǎochī.

Beef noodles are delicious.

HSK 7-9

农民养了一头牛。

Nóngmín yǎng le yītóu niú.

The farmer raised a cow.

Tips

usage

In slang, 牛 (or 牛逼, vulgar) means "awesome / badass." 好牛! or 太牛了! is used to praise someone's skills or achievements.

culture

The ox is one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. People born in the Year of the Ox are considered diligent and dependable.

Components

pictograph

牛 niú

cow; ox

A frontal-view drawing of an ox: the top and slanting strokes form the curved horns; the long vertical is the spine, the horizontal the shoulders. 牛 is itself a Kangxi radical (#93) heading the cattle family - 物 (thing), 特 (special), 牧 (herd).

Radical

Cattle Kangxi #93

A productive radical for cattle, sacrificial animals, and ox-related work. Strong meaning clue — characters like 物 (thing, originally a colored ox), 牧 (herd), 牢 (pen / sturdy), and 牲 (livestock) all carry it. As the left-side variant 牜 it slims into a vertical strip.

Forms

牛 niú

Default 19 characters

牜 niú

Left 0 characters