Meaning
ox; cow; bull
Chinese: 牛这种动物；口语中也可表示厉害。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “niu” becomes a different word in each tone. 牛 is the 2nd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 牛奶niú nǎicow's milk
- 牛仔裤niú zǎi kùjeans
- 奶牛nǎi niúmilk cow; dairy cow
- 吹牛chuī niúto talk big; to brag; to shoot off one's mouth; (dialect) to chat idly
- 牛人niú rén(coll.) leading light; true expert; badass
Example Sentence
农民牵着牛去田里干活。Nóng mín qiān zhe niú qù tián lǐ gàn huó.The farmer led the ox to work in the fields.
农民Nóng mínpeasant牵qiānto lead along着zhe(ongoing action)牛niúox去qùto go田tiánfield里lǐinside干活gàn huóto work。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A pictograph of an ox’s head seen from the front, with two horns at the top. It means ‘ox / cow / cattle’.
A way to remember it
Two horns over a face — an ox.
Easy to confuse with
- 午‘Noon’: very similar, but the top is a slanted stroke and there is no horn poking left.