牛掰 (niúbāi): awesome

Meanings

1 awesome
2 badass
3 impressive (slang)

Characters

牛

to snap apart (here phonetic)

Examples

这个操作太牛掰了！

Zhège cāozuò tài niúbāi le!

That move was seriously badass!

他英语说得真牛掰。

Tā Yīngyǔ shuō de zhēn niúbāi.

His English is honestly impressive.

Tips

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Euphemistic stand-in for the vulgar 牛屄 — same 'badass/awesome' meaning but safe to say in polite company. Close cousins: 牛 (on its own), 牛逼 (vulgar), 牛叉 (also euphemistic).

Stroke Order

牛 niú

掰 bāi

Related Words

牛 niú HSK 5 #1,407

cow; ox; bull; cattle / awesome; impressive (slang) / stubborn

牛百叶 niúbǎiyè

beef omasum / "book tripe" (the third stomach of a cow, served in hot pot and Cantonese dim sum)

cowboy / jeans (short for 牛仔裤)

牛奶 niúnǎi HSK 1 #2,632

cow's milk; milk

牛宝 niúbǎo

bull testicles (culinary euphemism) / beef pizzle / beef offal dish

牛板筋 niúbǎnjīn

beef tendon / flat connective tissue from the cow's back

牛仔裤 niúzǎikù HSK 5 #6,256

jeans; denim pants

牛皮癣 niúpíxuǎn #36,931

psoriasis / (figurative, slang) hard-to-remove ad stickers plastered on walls and lampposts