The cow; ox radical — 牛 (niú)

Every character below contains 牛 (or its other form 牜). Meanings come from the same dictionary that powers the translator, so you can look any of them up in full there.

What does the Chinese radical 牛 mean?

牛 is pronounced niú and means "cow; ox". It is written in 4 strokes. An ox head with horns. Cattle were the measure of wealth, so it marks 物 (thing, matter), 特 (special), 牧 (to herd) and 件 (item, measure word).

Which characters use the 牛 radical?

Common examples include 物 (wù, Thing (matter - content - produce - creature - property)), 特 (tè / té, Special (unusual - extremely - secret agent); Male animal), 牧 (mù, Shepherd (herd)), 犁 (lí, Plow (plough)). This page lists 6 of them with pinyin, meanings and audio.

How many strokes does 牛 have?

4. Radical dictionaries file it in the 4 strokes section, which is how you look up an unfamiliar character when you cannot guess its pronunciation.

What is the difference between 牛 and 牜?

They are the same radical in two shapes. 牜 is the related form — either the full character that 牛 is a squeezed side form of, or the traditional character the simplified radical came from. Both are filed under the same radical, and both mean cow; ox.