How to write 牛 (niú, “cow”)
牛 (niú), an HSK 1 character, means “cow”, “ox” and “bull”. Make Me a Hanzi uses it in 38 other characters, such as 件 (“component”), 半 (“half”) and 告 (“to say”). On its own it is an HSK 3 word; it also forms 牛奶 (“cow's milk”), 牛仔裤 (“jeans”) and 吹牛 (“to talk big”). Japanese reads it gyuu, “cow”, as a JLPT N4 kanji.
- Pinyin
- niú
- Strokes
- 4
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 牛 (“cow”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Left-falling stroke ㇒top leftdown and right → down and left
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 4 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
牛 inside other characters
Make Me a Hanzi count: 38 characters.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| niú second tone | cow; ox; bull; newton (abbr. for 牛顿 (niúdùn)) | — | 牛奶 牛仔裤 吹牛 对牛弹琴 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 176 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 牛
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 牛 | niú | ox; cow HSK 3 |
| 牛奶 | niúnǎi | cow's milk HSK 1 |
| 牛仔裤 牛仔褲 | niúzǎikù | jeans HSK 5 |
| 吹牛 | chuīniú | to talk big; to brag HSK 7-9 |
| 对牛弹琴 對牛彈琴 | duìniú-tánqín | lit. to play the lute to a cow (idiom); fig. offering a treat to an… HSK 7-9 |
| 公牛 | gōngniú | bull |
| 和牛 | héniú | wagyu |
| 大牛 | dàniú | leading light; superstar |
| 天牛 | tiānniú | Longhorn beetle |
| 奶牛 | nǎiniú | milk cow; dairy cow |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several characters: worksheet maker.
Keep going
Contain it:
HSK 1, in list order: