养牛 (yǎng niú) — to raise cattle; to keep cows

Definition

verb
to raise cattleto keep cows

Examples

  • 养牛，。
    Tā zài nóng cūn yǎng niú, yì nián néng zhuàn bù shǎo qián.
    He raises cattle in the countryside and can make quite a bit of money in a year.
  • 养牛。
    Zhè jiā nóng chǎng yǎng niú yǐ jīng chāo guò wǔ shí nián le.
    This farm has been raising cattle for over fifty years.
  • 养牛。
    yǎng niú Xū yào hěn dà de mù chǎng hé chōng zú de sì liào.
    Raising cattle requires large pastures and sufficient feed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

养yǎngraise
牛niúcattle

“养” (raise) and “牛” (cattle) combine to mean raising cattle.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 養; 养 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 養 uses 羊 as a sound part and 食 as a meaning part.

Open 养 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

牛 is drawn as a bull's head, with two horns and two ears.

Open 牛 →

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