Meaning
A yak is a large, long-haired bovine animal native to the Himalayan region and Tibetan Plateau. In Chinese, 牦牛 specifically refers to this domesticated or wild animal that is essential to Tibetan culture and high-altitude life. The animal is valued for its meat, milk, hide, and as a pack animal in mountainous terrain.
Usage
This word is most commonly encountered in contexts related to Tibet, Qinghai, and other high-altitude regions of China. It appears in discussions of Tibetan culture, tourism to western China, or when describing specialty foods like yak butter tea (酥油茶) or yak meat. The word is more specialized vocabulary and not part of everyday conversation for most Chinese speakers.
Examples
- 01在西藏高原上，牦牛是当地人的重要生活资源。, .On the Tibetan Plateau, yaks are an important life resource for local people.
- 02我们在青海吃到了新鲜的牦牛肉火锅。.We ate fresh yak meat hotpot in Qinghai.
Characters
Measure words
- 头一头牦牛
- 只几只牦牛
Common collocations
- 牦牛肉yak meat
- 牦牛奶yak milk
- 野牦牛wild yak
- 牦牛群herd of yaks
Origin
The character 牦 is composed of the cattle radical (牛) plus a phonetic component, specifically denoting this particular species of high-altitude cattle. The word combines 牦 (the specific yak character) with 牛 (general term for cattle) to create the compound term for this animal.