牛
also: ぎゅう
Meanings
Only with reading うし
General word for cattle, regardless of sex or age unless context specifies; can refer to a cow, bull, ox, or calf in English depending on the situation.
Cows are eating grass on the ranch.
This farmer keeps one hundred head of cattle.
Only with reading ぎゅう
Food and cooking use; usually read ぎゅう, especially when contrasted with pork or chicken. 牛肉 is the more explicit full word for beef.
See also: 牛肉
Would you like beef or pork for the meat?
Seared beef is popular at this restaurant.
Ox constellation; one of the 28 lunar mansions
Only with reading ぎゅう
Astronomical and traditional East Asian calendrical term; read ぎゅう and used as the name of one of the 二十八宿.
One of the twenty-eight lunar mansions is 牛, read gyū.
Usage patterns
- 牛を飼うto raise/keep cattle
My grandfather's family raises cattle.
- 牛にするto choose beef (over other meats, e.g. when ordering)
I went with beef at the yakiniku restaurant.
- 牛の乳を搾るto milk a cow
I have a job milking cows every morning.
Expressions· 13
- 牛の舌cow's tongue · sole (fish)
- 牛の歩みsnail's pace; very slow progress
- 商いは牛のよだれone should not rush to make a profit; business is best run when sales flow like a cow's drool
- 早牛も淀、遅牛も淀there is no point in hurrying; haste makes waste
- 牛を馬に乗り換えるswitch from something bad to something good; trade up
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- 角を矯めて牛を殺すto throw the baby out with the bath water; to strain at a gnat and swallow a camel; to obsess over insignificant details and miss the larger point
- 遅牛も淀、早牛も淀there is no point in hurrying; slow and steady wins the race
- 牛は牛連れ馬は馬連れbirds of a feather flock together; like attracts like