Learn Chinese Characters 082 牛

by Caren Zuo

牛 (niú)

Bronze Ware: the head of a cow

The character was created by picturing the oxhead and oxhorns. The oxen are strong and tamable and they are good hands to man in the fields. Some guess that the pronunciation was made by mimicking the yelling of oxen.

The oxen work hard without any complaining in the field, and people praised such attitude as “老黄牛精神” （the spirit owning by an old yellow ox, namely work hard without any complaining）.

On the other hand, the oxen are not always as docile as people want them to be. Sometimes they will lose their temper and defy man’s power, and people call it “牛脾气” （the particular temper of oxen, namely stubbornness, obstinacy）.

“牛” is popularly used to describe an important person who may be really capable, or only arrogant. For example: "他这人真牛" （It suggests He is really capable or He is quite arrogant. The specific meaning depends on the context）.

“牛” is a radical which is related to “ox” or “the action of a ox” when it is used a part of combined characters.

Ploughing the field


A Test: Please find out the part representing “ox”.
牢 牵 犁 牡

Useful Phrases:

牛肉 (niú ròu)  beef

牛头 (niú tóu) oxhead 

牛尾 (niú wěi) the tail of cows or oxes 

牛腿 (niú tuǐ) the leg of cows or oxes  

牛蹄 (niú tí) the hoof of cows or oxes

牛角 (niú jiǎo) ox horn