Meaning of 牛
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- ox
- cow
- bull
- newton (abbr. for 牛頓|牛顿[niu2 dun4])
- (slang) awesome
Measure word: 條|条,頭|头
- surname Niu
How to use 牛
牛 (niú) covers cattle in general: ox, cow, or bull. It shows up in food and everyday words like 牛奶 (niúnǎi, milk) and 牛排 (niúpái, steak). In casual speech it also means awesome, as in 你真牛 (nǐ zhēn niú) "You're really awesome."
Picture 牛 (niú) as an ox seen from the front. The short stroke at the top left is one horn, and the long vertical line running down through the crosses is the animal's body.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 牛 (niú) with 午 (wǔ, noon). In 牛 the vertical stroke pokes up through the top, but in 午 it stops at the upper horizontal line. Also remember 吹牛 (chuīniú) means to brag, not to blow on a cow.
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.
牛 niú · ox · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 牛.
| 牛奶 | niúnǎi | cow's milk |
| 牛仔裤 | niúzǎikù | jeans |
| 奶牛 | nǎiniú | milk cow; dairy cow |
| 吹牛 | chuīniú | to talk big; to brag; to shoot off one's mouth; (dialect) to chat idly |
| 牛仔 | niúzǎi | cowboy |
| 牛排 | niúpái | steak |
| 牛肉 | niúròu | beef |
| 公牛 | gōngniú | bull |
| 水牛 | shuǐniú | water buffalo |
| 蜗牛 | wōniú | snail; Taiwan pr. [gua1 niu2] |
| 牛顿 | Niúdùn | newton (SI unit of force) |
| 犀牛 | xīniú | rhinoceros |
Questions about 牛
What does 牛 mean?
牛 (niú) means "ox; cow" and is used as a noun and adjective.
How do you write 牛?
牛 is made of 1 character: 牛 (4 strokes). That is 4 strokes in total.
Is 牛 an HSK word?
Yes. 牛 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 牛 (niú) beef or cow?
By itself 牛 means the animal. Beef is 牛肉 (niúròu), literally cow meat. On menus you will often see dishes that just start with 牛, such as 牛排 (niúpái, steak).
Is calling someone 牛 rude?
No. Saying 你太牛了 (nǐ tài niú le) is informal praise that means you are amazing. It is slang, so keep it for friends and casual settings rather than formal writing.