noun / adjective HSK 1
cow · ox · cattle · awesome · impressive
Meaning
This character means 'cow' or 'ox' and is one of the most basic nouns in Mandarin. It's also one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals. In modern slang, 牛 means 'awesome' or 'impressive', similar to saying someone or something is 'cool' in English.
Usage
As a noun, 牛 refers to cattle in general (cows, bulls, oxen). When used as an adjective in colloquial speech, especially among younger speakers, 牛 expresses admiration—'你真牛!' means 'You're really awesome!' This slang usage has become very common in casual conversation.
Examples
- 01我爸爸在农场养了十头牛。.My dad raises ten cattle on the farm.
- 02你的中文说得真牛!!Your Chinese is really awesome!
Measure words
- 头一头牛
- 只两只牛
Common collocations
- 吹牛to brag, to boast
- 牛人awesome person, expert
- 牛气impressive, formidable
- 很牛very awesome/impressive
Origin
The character 牛 is a pictograph that evolved from ancient drawings of a cow's head with horns, viewed from the front. It's also a radical (部首) used in many characters related to cattle and bovine animals.