Meaning of 奶牛
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- milk cow
- dairy cow
How to use 奶牛
奶牛 refers to cows raised for milk, as opposed to cattle raised for meat or farm work. It is common when talking about farms, the countryside, or dairy products. Example: 这个农场有一百头奶牛。(Zhège nóngchǎng yǒu yìbǎi tóu nǎiniú.) This farm has one hundred dairy cows.
奶牛 is simply 奶 (nǎi, milk) plus 牛 (niú, cow). It is the cow you keep for milk, so the milk comes first in the name.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 奶牛 (nǎiniú, dairy cow) and 牛奶 (niúnǎi, cow's milk), since they use the same two characters in reverse order. Remember that the last character names the thing: 奶牛 is a kind of 牛 (cow), and 牛奶 is a kind of 奶 (milk).
奶牛 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
奶 nǎi · breast · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
牛 niú · ox · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 奶牛.
| 奶奶 | nǎinai | (informal) grandma (paternal grandmother); (respectful) mistress of the house |
| 牛奶 | niúnǎi | cow's milk |
| 奶茶 | nǎichá | milk tea |
| 酸奶 | suānnǎi | yogurt |
| 牛仔裤 | niúzǎikù | jeans |
| 奶粉 | nǎifěn | powdered milk |
| 吹牛 | chuīniú | to talk big; to brag; to shoot off one's mouth; (dialect) to chat idly |
| 牛仔 | niúzǎi | cowboy |
| 奶酪 | nǎilào | cheese |
| 奶油 | nǎiyóu | cream; butter |
| 牛排 | niúpái | steak |
| 牛肉 | niúròu | beef |
Questions about 奶牛
What does 奶牛 mean?
奶牛 (nǎiniú) means "milk cow; dairy cow" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 奶牛?
奶牛 is made of 2 characters: 奶 (5 strokes), 牛 (4 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 奶牛 an HSK word?
Yes. 奶牛 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What measure word is used with 奶牛?
The usual measure word is 头 (tóu), as in 一头奶牛 (yì tóu nǎiniú), one dairy cow. In casual speech you may also hear 只 (zhī), but 头 is standard for cattle.
Does 奶牛 have any slang or figurative meaning?
Yes, in casual speech 奶牛 can describe something with black and white patches, like a 奶牛猫 (nǎiniú māo), a black and white cat. It can also loosely describe a source that keeps producing money or value, though this use is informal.