牲 (shēng) is a Chinese character meaning “domestic animal”. It is written from 牛 (ox; cow) and 生 (to be born; to grow; raw; life), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “livestock”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
牛 + 生
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·牛部：牲，牛完全也。从牛生聲。
Memory aid
An ox (牛) squeezed thin on the left — the animal itself. On the right, 生 is not part of the picture: it is the sound. 生 shēng, so 牲 shēng.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 牲口shēng koulivestock; draft animal牲 = shēng
- 牲畜shēng chùlivestock; domestic animals牲 = shēng
- 牺牲xī shēngto sacrifice; to give up (one’s life or interests)牲 = shēng
Go deeper
All readings
livestock
domestic animal; livestock; an animal raised for work, food or sacrifice
家畜，如牛、羊、猪；古代也指用于祭祀的牲畜。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 牲口shēng koulivestock; draft animal牲 = shēng
- 牲畜shēng chùlivestock; domestic animals牲 = shēng
- 牺牲xī shēngto sacrifice; to give up (one’s life or interests)牲 = shēng
Sound component
生 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 牲 mean?
牲 (shēng) means domestic animal; livestock; an animal raised for work, food or sacrifice.
How do you pronounce 牲?
It is pronounced shēng.
What parts is 牲 made of?
牛 (ox; cow) and 生 (to be born; to grow; raw; life), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·牛部：牲，牛完全也。从牛生聲。. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 牲 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 牲?
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 牲?
Common ones are 牲口. The reading of 牲 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.