牛: Ox

 

牛 niú

noun | mammal | animal | radical 93
: ox, cow, bull
: (slang) awesome
: (Chinese surname)

Kun Reading

牛 | うし ushi

noun
: cattle (Bos taurus); cow; bull; ox; calf;
: (usu. ぎゅう) beef
: {astronomy} Chinese “Ox” constellation (one of the 28 mansions)
: (surname) Niu

 Usage:

牛奶 niu2nai3: cow’s milk

[牛乳 | ぎゅうにゅう gyuunyuu: (cow’s) milk]

牛油 niu2you2: butter

[牛酪 | ぎゅうらく gyuuraku: butter]

牛肉 niu2rou4: beef [ぎゅうにく gyuuniku]

牛排 niu2pai2: steak

[ステーキ sutekki]

牛車 niúchē: oxcart | ぎゅうしゃ gyuusha

牛馬(马) niúmǎ: oxen and horses; beasts of burden [ぎゅうば gyuuba: horses and cattle]

牛仔褲[裤] niu2zai3 ku4: jeans

[ジーンズ jiinsu]

牛郎 niu2lang2: cowherd boy; (slang) male prostitute; Cowherd of the folk tale Cowherd and Weaving maid 牛郎織女Altair (star)

吹牛 chui1niu2: to talk big; to shoot off one’s mouth; to chat (dialect)

小牛 xiao3niu2: calf [こうし koushi]

牵牛 qian1niu2: morning glory (Pharbitis nil); Altair (star); Cowherd of the folk tale Cowherd and Weaving maid 牛郎織女

丑牛 chou3niu2: Year 2, year of the Bull or Ox [うしどし ushidoshi]

乳牛 ru3niu2: dairy cattle
[ちちうし chichiushi OR にゅうぎゅう nyuugyuu: milk cow; dairy cattle; milch cow]

蝸牛 gua1niu2: snail [かぎゅう kagyuu OR かたつむり katatsumuri OR でんでんむし dendenmushi: snail]

鬥[斗]牛 dou4niu2: bullfighting

 

牛丼 | ぎゅうどん gyuudon: beef bowl, rice covered with sliced beef

Japanese common word | expression | yojijukugo 四字熟語 | idiom | proverb
牛ふん | ぎゅうふん gyuufun
: cattle manure; cow dung; cowpat; bullshit

牛頭馬頭 | ごずめず gozumezu
: (yoji) horse-headed and ox-headed demons in the Buddhist hell
[牛頭馬面 niu2tou2 ma3mian4]

*九牛一毛 | きゅうぎゅうのいちもう kyuugyuu no ichimou OR きゅうぎゅういちもう kyuugyuu ichimou
: (yoji) a drop in the bucket (ocean); a small fraction (of); trifle

割鶏牛刀 | かっけいぎゅうとう kakkei gyuutou
: using a meat ax when a knife would suffice; taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut; using a grand-scale measure (a massive instrument) to deal with an insignificant problem

牛耳を執る | ぎゅうじをとる gyuuji o toru
: to take the lead in; to control; to be the leader

蝸牛角上の争い | かぎゅうかくじょうのあらそい kagyuu kaku jou no arasoi
: fighting over nothing; making a mountain out of a molehill

角を矯めて牛を殺す | つのをためてうしをころす tsuno o tamete ushi o korosu
: to throw the baby out with the bath water; to strain at a camel and swallow a gnat; to obsess over insignificant details and miss the larger point

鶏口となるも牛後となる勿れ | けいこうとなるもぎゅうごとなるなかれ keikou tonaru mo gyuu goto naru nakare
: Better be the head of a cat than the tail of a lion

Chinese expression | chengyu 成語 | idiom | proverb
蝸行牛步 [蜗行牛步] wo1 xing2 niu2 bu4
: lit. to crawl like a snail and plod along like an old ox; fig. to move at a snail’s pace; to make slow progress

扒屋牽牛 [扒屋牵牛] ba1 wu1 qian1 niu2
: to sack the home and lead off the cattle (proverb); to strip of everything

*九牛一毛 jiu3 niu2 yi1 mao2
: lit. one hair from nine oxen; fig. a drop in the ocean

對牛彈琴 [对牛弹琴] dui4 niu2 tan2 qin2
: lit. to play the lute to a cow; fig. offering a treat to an unappreciative audience; to cast pearls before swine; caviar to the general; to preach to deaf ears; to talk over sb’s head

呼牛作馬 [呼牛作马] hu1 niu2 zuo4 ma3
: to call something a cow or a horse; it doesn’t matter what you call it. Insult me if you want, it doesn’t affect me.

老牛吃嫩草 lao3 niu2 chi1 nen4 cao3
: lit. an old cow eats young grass; fig. a May-December relationship; a romance where the man is significantly older than the woman

九牛二虎之力 jiu3 niu2 er4 hu3 zhi1 li4
: tremendous strength

風馬牛不相及 [风马牛不相及] feng1 ma3 niu2 bu4 xiang1 ji2
: to be completely unrelated to one another; irrelevant