牛 (niú) is a Chinese character meaning “ox”. It is written from ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke), and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “ox; cow”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇒ + ㇐ + ㇐ + ㇑
Overlapping structure
- ㇒ left-falling stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇑ vertical stroke unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+725B and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 撇 / 横 / 横 / 竖)
Memory aid
Start with a short left-falling stroke (㇒) leaning off the top — that is one horn. Then a short horizontal (㇐) under it, a long horizontal (㇐) below that, and finally one vertical (㇑) dropped straight through both.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 牛奶niú nǎimilk (cow's milk)牛 = niú
- 牛肉niú ròubeef牛 = niú
- 吹牛chuī niúto brag; to boast; to talk big牛 = niú
- 牛仔niú zǎicowboy牛 = niú
- 牛角niú jiǎoox horn; cow's horn牛 = niú
- 乳牛rǔ niúdairy cow牛 = niú
Go deeper
All readings
ox; cow
ox; cow; cattle; bovine animal
哺乳动物，力气大，可以耕地、拉车，也提供牛奶和牛肉。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 牛奶niú nǎimilk (cow's milk)牛 = niú
- 牛肉niú ròubeef牛 = niú
- 吹牛chuī niúto brag; to boast; to talk big牛 = niú
- 牛仔niú zǎicowboy牛 = niú
- 牛角niú jiǎoox horn; cow's horn牛 = niú
- 乳牛rǔ niúdairy cow牛 = niú
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 牛 mean?
牛 (niú) means ox; cow; cattle; bovine animal.
How do you pronounce 牛?
It is pronounced niú.
What parts is 牛 made of?
㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇑ (vertical stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode U+725B and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 撇 / 横 / 横 / 竖). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 牛 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 牛?
牛. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 牛?
Common ones are 牛奶 and 牛肉. The reading of 牛 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.