水牛
shuǐniú
The English word 'buffalo' is translated into Chinese as 水牛 (shuǐniú).
The term refers specifically to the bovid of the Bubalina subtribe, known as the water buffalo.
Meaning: bovid of the Bubalina subtribe (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 水牛 is composed of 水 (water) and 牛 (cow/ox), literally meaning 'water ox'.
Which one should you use?
While 水牛 specifically refers to the water buffalo, the more general term 牛 can be used to refer to any bovine or cattle. To refer to the meat of a buffalo, you can add 肉 (meat) to the end of the word to get 水牛肉.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
shuǐniú
Did you know?
- In Chinese, the word 牛 (niú) is frequently used in slang to describe someone who is 'extremely capable' or 'a high achiever'.
- The character for 'cow' 牛 is a pictograph that originally looked like the head of an ox with its horns. Over thousands of years, it was simplified into the abstract strokes used today.
- In Chinese culture, the 水牛 is often seen as a symbol of diligence and endurance. It is frequently depicted in traditional art as a companion to the philosopher or the hermit.
Examples in context
- 女人食用水牛肉導致暈厥。The woman has suffered from a collapse, because she ate meat from a water buffalo.This sentence shows how to use 水牛 in the context of food.Tatoeba #13956920 by LeviHighway, translation #5804059 by Zurich899
- 根据研究结果，水牛是亚洲地区重要的畜牧动物之一。According to research results, the buffalo is one of the important livestock animals in Asia.
- 这个地方有很多牛，还有很多水牛。There are many cows and buffaloes in this area.
- 那頭水牛很大。Nà tó shuǐniú hěn dà.That buffalo is very big.
- 農民正在餵水牛。Nóngmín zhèngzài wèi shuǐniú.The farmer is feeding the buffalo.
Example conversation
Jiayi and Junjie are visiting a farm.
- 佳怡 Jiayi俊杰，你看那边有一头水牛！Jùnjié, nǐ kàn nàbiān yǒu yìtóu shuǐniú!Junjie, look, there is a buffalo over there!
- 俊杰 Junjie它的角看起来真长。Tā de jiǎo kàn qǐlái zhēn cháng.Its horns look really long.
- 佳怡 Jiayi这种水牛很聪明。Zhè zhǒng shuǐniú hěn cōngmíng.This kind of buffalo is very smart.
- 俊杰 Junjie我以前没见过这么大的水牛。Wǒ yǐqián méi jiànguò zhème dà de shuǐniú.I have never seen such a large buffalo before.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “buffalo” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
