牦 meaning and stroke order
Tail, hair; yak
How to write 牦, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 牦
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- yak (Bos grunniens)
How 牦 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. The fur 毛 of an ox 牛; 毛 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 牛 (ox), shared by 34 characters on this site.
How to remember 牦
Picture an ox 牛 covered in long shaggy hair 毛 (máo). A hairy ox is a yak, and the 毛 side also tells you the sound máo.
牦 almost always appears in the word 牦牛 (máoniú), the yak of the Tibetan Plateau. It also shows up in product names made from yaks, such as yak meat or yak milk. Example: 西藏有很多牦牛。(Xīzàng yǒu hěn duō máoniú.) There are many yaks in Tibet.
Common mistake: Learners often write just 毛牛 because the sound is the same, but the correct word needs the ox radical on the left: 牦牛. Also keep the 牛 on the left narrow, with its last stroke as a rising stroke rather than a long horizontal.
Common words with 牦
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 牦牛 | máoniú | yak (Bos grunniens) |
Questions about 牦
How many strokes are in 牦?
牦 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 牦 mean?
牦 (máo) means tail, hair; yak. A common word with it is 牦牛 (máoniú), meaning "yak (Bos grunniens)".
How do you pronounce 牦?
牦 is pronounced máo, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 牦?
The radical of 牦 is 牛, which carries the idea of "ox". Dictionaries list 牦 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 牦?
The traditional form of 牦 is 氂. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 牦 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Can 牦 be used alone to mean yak?
Not in everyday Chinese. People say 牦牛 (máoniú). On its own, 牦 mostly appears in dictionaries or in compound names.
How do you say yak meat or yak butter in Chinese?
Yak meat is 牦牛肉 (máoniúròu). Yak butter is usually called 酥油 (sūyóu), the butter used in Tibetan butter tea.