小牛 (xiǎo niú) — calf (young cow) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

calf (young cow)

Measure word · 头

Examples

小牛。
Nóng chǎng lǐ yǒu yì zhī gāng chū shēng de xiǎo niú.
There is a newborn calf on the farm.
小牛。
Zhè tóu xiǎo niú zhèng zài chī cǎo.
This calf is eating grass.
小牛。
Mǔ niú zài zhào gù tā de xiǎo niú.
The cow is taking care of her calf.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

小 (young) and 牛 (cow) combine to mean a young cow.

Characters in this word

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

八八bāto divide; to separate
丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

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.

Appears in

Animals & Mammals

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