TongTong
Sign in

牡 (mǔ) — (bound form) male (of certain birds and animals); (bound form) used in the word 牡蛎 (oyster)

Definition

Bound form used as the male prefix for certain animals (as in 牡牛 'bull'). Survives in everyday Chinese mainly inside the word 牡蛎 (oyster).

bound form
male (of certain birds and animals)used in the word 牡蛎 (oyster)

Examples

  • 。
    Wǒ hěn xǐ huan chī mǔ lì.
    I really like eating oysters.
  • 。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng de mǔ lì tāng hěn hǎo hē.
    The oyster soup at this restaurant is delicious.
  • 牡。
    Nà tóu mǔ niú shì nóng chǎng lǐ zuì qiáng zhuàng de.
    That bull is the strongest one on the farm.

Origin

Compound ideograph
六书liùshū
会意huìyì

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

牡 combines 牛 (cattle) with 丄; some explanations say 丄 depicts a penis to represent male, and this part was later written 土.

Appears in
Animals & MammalsBirds

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.