móu
verb #48,637

Meanings

  1. 1 to seek (profit); to obtain
  2. 2 surname Mou

Examples

HSK 7-9
Yǒuxiē shāngjiā tōugōng-jiǎnliào lái móulì.
Some merchants cut corners to seek profit.
HSK 7-9
Shìjiāmóuní shì Fójiào de chuàngshǐrén.
Shakyamuni is the founder of Buddhism.

Tips

usage
Everyday use is the verb "to seek/obtain" in 牟利 (to seek profit), usually with a negative tone. It also transliterates the móu syllable in 释迦牟尼 (Shakyamuni). A separate reading mù survives only in the Shandong place name 牟平.

Components

radical
niú
ox; cow
The ox radical forms the base. The character originally meant the lowing of cattle before its modern sense of seeking gain took over.
ideograph
private; cocoon shape
The top element historically depicted breath rising from the ox's mouth in the original "to low / moo" meaning; in the modern form it reads as an abstract upper marker.

Stroke Order

móu