A horned bovine animal, especially an ox or cow. Cow, bull, ox, cattle; beef or dairy source; slang for awesome or stubborn. Two horns sprouting from a long central face line, with a horizontal crossbar for the muzzle.
The character 牛 originally depicted the head of a bull, with the top strokes representing its curved horns and the vertical stroke its face. Over time, it became the standard character for 'cow' or 'ox'. The simple shape makes it easy to remember as an animal with horns.
English speakers might literally translate 'cow water' for milk, but Chinese uses 奶 for milk.
Combining two animal characters without a conjunction is not natural; use 或 (or) to list animals.
牛 means 'cow' and 午 means 'noon'; they look similar but have different meanings and strokes.
牛 (niú) is a pictograph of a cow's head, with the top strokes representing horns. 午 (wǔ) originally depicted a pestle and means 'noon' or 'midday'. The key difference is that 牛 has a vertical stroke that extends above the top horizontal line, while 午's vertical stroke does not. Both are common HSK 1 characters, so pay attention to the stroke details.
| Dimension | 牛 | 午 |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | cow; ox | noon; midday |
| Pinyin | niú | wǔ |
| Stroke count | 4 | 4 |
| Visual | horns and face | pestle shape |
牛 can be used alone as a noun meaning 'cow' or 'ox', but it is also very common in compounds like 牛奶 (milk) and 牛肉 (beef).
In Chinese, 牛 is a free morpheme, so it can stand alone as a word, for example, 那是一头牛 (That is a cow). However, it frequently appears in fixed compounds where it modifies another noun, such as 牛奶 (milk) or 牛肉 (beef). As a beginner, it's useful to learn both the standalone usage and common collocations.
| Dimension | Standalone | In compound |
|---|---|---|
| Example | 牛很大。 | 我喜欢喝牛奶。 |
| Meaning | The cow is big. | I like drinking milk. |
| Usage | As a noun | As a modifier |
This is a short dialogue about a shopping trip. A woman buys many things, including food, drinks, furniture, and pet food, while her boyfriend reminds her not to overspend.
我买了鸡蛋、面包、 牛奶 ，还有一些水果，这些都是你和我的吃的和喝的东西，还有给我们的小猫和小狗吃的东西。
Follow a traveler's unexpected hospital stay in China, where counting days and costs becomes practical learning. Practice numbers, dates, food prices, and simple descriptions of a doctor and room.
面包一块二， 牛奶 四块三。
This simple story introduces you to a family and what each member likes to do. Learn helpful words for food and daily activities as you read about Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, Dad, and the kids.
爷爷吃面包，奶奶喝 牛奶 。
Before you read, think about names: a train is called 'fire vehicle' in Chinese, but there's no fire! This simple rhyme will help you laugh while reviewing everyday words.
米饭不是米，鸡蛋不是蛋， 牛奶 不是奶。
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