牛油
niúyóu/ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ joʊ̯³⁵/
The English word "butter" is translated into Chinese as 牛油 (niúyóu), bá-tah, 黃油 / 黄油 or 白脫 / 白脱.
Meaning: soft foodstuff made from milk (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 牛油 | niúyóu | /ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ joʊ̯³⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) | |
| 黃油 / 黄油 | huángyóu | ||
| 白脫 / 白脱 | báituō | ||
| 牛油 | gû-iû | /ɡu¹³⁻²² iu¹³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Kinmen, Sinological IPA, General Taiwanese) /ɡu²⁴⁻¹² iu²⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Kinmen, Sinological IPA, General Taiwanese) |
Hokkien |
In Standard Mandarin, 黃油 / 黄油 is the most common way to refer to the dairy product.
What does it mean word for word?
In Hokkien, the term 牛油 (gû-iû) literally translates to ox oil or beef fat, though it is used to mean butter. In Standard Mandarin, 黃油 / 黄油 literally translates to yellow oil.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The form bá-tah is specific to Hokkien in Taiwan.
How do you pronounce it?
The Hokkien form 牛油 is pronounced /ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ joʊ̯³⁵/.
Did you know?
- While 黃油 means 'butter' in a culinary context, in industrial or mechanical contexts it can refer to 'grease' or 'lubricant'.
- The term 白脫 is a phonetic loanword from English 'butter' that traveled through the Shanghainese dialect before entering other forms of Chinese.
- Because 牛油 literally means 'cow oil', it can lead to confusion in some regions where it might be mistaken for beef tallow used in traditional frying.
Examples in context
- 牛油是用牛奶造的。Butter is made from milk.This sentence illustrates how to state that 牛油 is produced from milk.Tatoeba #348185 by nickyeow, translation #35200 by CK
- 我们需要一些黄油做蛋糕。We need some butter to make a cake.
- 请给我一块面包和一些奶油。Please give me a piece of bread and some butter.
- 这个菜谱需要用到一些酥油。This recipe requires some clarified butter.
Example conversation
Zhiqiang and Zihan are preparing breakfast in the kitchen.
- 志强 Zhiqiang梓涵，厨房里还有牛油吗？Zǐhán, chúfáng lǐ hái yǒu niúyóu ma?Zihan, is there any butter left in the kitchen?
- 梓涵 Zihan应该还有，在冰箱里。Yīnggāi hái yǒu, zài bīngxiāng lǐ.There should be some, it's in the fridge.
- 志强 Zhiqiang我没找到，你能帮我看看吗？Wǒ méi zhǎodào, nǐ néng bāng wǒ kànkan ma?I couldn't find it, can you help me look?
- 梓涵 Zihan在这里，这就是你要的牛油。Zài zhèlǐ, zhè jiùshì nǐ yào de niúyóu.Here it is, this is the butter you wanted.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “butter” translations and entries 牛油, 牛油, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 白脫, 黃油, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
