牛niúox; cow; bull
牛 (niú) means "ox," "cow," or "bull." It names cattle in general and counts with 头 or 条, as in 一头牛 (a cow). It also appears in food words like 牛肉 (beef). In slang, 牛 can describe someone or something as "awesome," as in 你真牛 (you're amazing).
What does 牛 mean?
- 1.
ox; cow; bullnoun
- 2.
(slang) awesomeadjective
What does the character 牛 mean?
- 牛ox; cow; bull
How do you use 牛?
牛 counts with 头, as in 两头牛; the slang sense awesome is casual and best kept to friends.
Patterns
number + 头 + 牛
他家有三头牛。
Tā jiā yǒu sān tóu niú.
His family has three cows.
What are some examples of 牛 in a sentence?
How is 牛 used in a conversation?
- Speaker A:
看，草地上有很多牛！
Kàn, cǎodì shang yǒu hěn duō niú!
Look, there are lots of cows on the grass!
- Speaker B:
那是我爷爷家的牛。
Nà shì wǒ yéye jiā de niú.
Those are my grandpa's cows.
- Speaker A:
你爷爷有多少头牛？
Nǐ yéye yǒu duōshao tóu niú?
How many cows does your grandpa have?
- Speaker B:
二十多头，他每天都很忙。
Èrshí duō tóu, tā měi tiān dōu hěn máng.
Twenty-odd; he's busy every day.
What should you learn next?
- Free HSK 3 level testSee which HSK 3.0 level your vocabulary matches.
- HSK 3 word listEvery word at this level, with examples.
- HSK 3.0 guideHow the nine levels and three bands work.
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- 以前yǐ qiánbeforeHSK 3
- 以后yǐ hòuafterHSK 3
Browse every entry in the Chinese word dictionary.
English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.