cow

Origin & mnemonic

This radical originates from a pictograph of a cow, showing two horns at the top and four legs below. In oracle-bone and seal script, the strokes depicted the form of a wild or domesticated bovine animal.

Mnemonic: The glyph ⽜ resembles a cow viewed from the front, with two horns protruding and four legs touching the ground.

• 牢láo🔊

  (literary) pen; fold (for livestock)

  HSK 6

  7 strokes

• 牡mǔ🔊

  (of a bird, animal or plant) male

  7 strokes

• 牣rèn🔊

  fill up

  7 strokes

• 牤māng🔊

  bull

  7 strokes

• 物wù🔊

  (bound form) thing

  8 strokes

• 牧mù🔊

  to herd

  8 strokes

• 牦máo🔊

  yak (Bos grunniens)

  8 strokes

• 牮jiàn🔊

  to prop up

  9 strokes

• 牯gǔ🔊

  bullock

  9 strokes

• 牲shēng🔊

  domestic animal

  9 strokes

• 牳mǔ🔊

  (bovine)

  9 strokes

• 牴dǐ🔊

  to butt

  9 strokes

• 特tè🔊

  special

  HSK 6

  10 strokes

• 牷quán🔊

  one-color bullock

  10 strokes

• 牸zì🔊

  female of domestic animals

  10 strokes

• 牺xī🔊

  sacrifice

  10 strokes

• 荦luò🔊

  brindled ox

  10 strokes