Ox Radical (牛) — Characters, Meaning and Practice Worksheet
牛 is the ox radical. It appears in 11 of the most common Chinese characters — these 11 are the ones worth learning first, and the worksheet below gives every one of them a pinyin header, a stroke-by-stroke model and blank Tianzige grids to copy into.
Free · No sign-up · US Letter PDF
What does 牛 mean?
Ox radical · 牛 niú · 4 strokes · ox, cattle
It usually appears on the left, or at the top. The Origin column below shows what each character's parts do — many take their meaning from the radical, some take their sound from the other half.
Shapes: 牛
牛 itself: An ox's horned head
11 common characters with 牛
Ranked by how often they appear in real written Chinese. Every character links to its own page with a stroke-order animation and example words.
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 解 | jiě | untie, undo; explain, solve | To cut 刀 the horns 角 off of an ox 牛; 角 also provides the pronunciation |
| 特 | tè | special, unusual | 寺 supplies the sound |
| 物 | wù | thing | 勿 supplies the sound |
| 件 | jiàn | [measure word for clothes, furniture, affairs, etc.] item, article | A man 亻 dividing up a cow 牛 |
| 告 | gào | tell, make known; sue | To speak 口 with the force of an ox 牛 |
| 半 | bàn | half | A cow 牛 splitting 丷 wood in half |
| 牵 | qiān | lead, lead along | A person 大 pulling an ox 牛 by a rope 冖 |
| 牲 | shēng | domestic animal; sacrificial animal | 生 supplies the sound |
| 牢 | láo | firm; sturdy; fold (for animals); sacrifice; prison | A stable 宀 where cattle are kept 牛 |
| 牺 | xī | sacrifice | 西 supplies the sound |
| 牧 | mù | to herd; to breed livestock; to govern (old); government official (old) | A hand 攵 leading an ox 牛 |
Related Radicals
- 殳Spear radical · shū9 common characters · a spear; a weapon
- 氵Water radical · shuǐ100 common characters · water
- 火Fire radical · huǒ35 common characters · fire
- 犭Dog radical · quǎn25 common characters · dog
- 王Jade radical · yù25 common characters · jade
- 疒Sickness radical · chuáng9 common characters · sickness
Create Your Own Chinese Worksheet
The download above is fixed; the generator is not. Turn any character list, sentence or textbook section into a printable worksheet — grid style, paper size and header are yours to pick.