牡 (mǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “male (of birds and animals)”. It is written from 牛 (ox; cow) and 土 (earth; soil), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “male (animal)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
牛 + 土
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：7 画 = 牛（左偏旁作「牜」）4 画 + 土 3 画；部首取康熙 93 牛部；右侧「土」的构形作用未确认（实测现代读音 土 tǔ / 牡 mǔ 声母不同），故不断言声符
Memory aid
An ox (牛, written 牜 on the left) standing on the soil (土) of the pasture — the bull, the male animal of the herd.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 牡丹mǔ dānpeony牡 = mǔ
- 牡蛎mǔ lìoyster牡 = mǔ
Go deeper
All readings
male (animal)
male (of birds and animals); the opposite of 牝 (female)
鸟兽的雄性，与「牝」相对。多用于书面语和固定词。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 牡丹mǔ dānpeony牡 = mǔ
- 牡蛎mǔ lìoyster牡 = mǔ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 牡 mean?
牡 (mǔ) means male (of birds and animals); the opposite of 牝 (female).
How do you pronounce 牡?
It is pronounced mǔ.
What parts is 牡 made of?
牛 (ox; cow) and 土 (earth; soil), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：7 画 = 牛（左偏旁作「牜」）4 画 + 土 3 画；部首取康熙 93 牛部；右侧「土」的构形作用未确认（实测现代读音 土 tǔ / 牡 mǔ 声母不同），故不断言声符. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 牡 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 牡?
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 牡?
Common ones are 牡丹 and 牡蛎. The reading of 牡 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.