mu
/ˈmu/
The English word 'moo' is translated into Italian as mu.
mu is used to represent the sound made by a cow or a bull.
Meaning: sound made by a cow or bull (intj)
Which one should you use?
Mù is an informal translation of moo.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ˈmu/.
Did you know?
- While mu is the sound, the Italian verb for a cow lowing is muggire, which sounds remarkably like the noise it describes.
- Because mu is a pure onomatopoeia, it behaves differently than standard Italian nouns and often lacks a fixed grammatical gender when used as an interjection.
- In written Italian, the sound is often written with an accent as mù to indicate a falling pitch, which helps a reader 'hear' the sound's natural decay.
Examples in context
- La mucca fa "muu" e il gatto fa "miao".The cow goes "moo" and the cat goes "meow."This sentence is useful for comparing the sounds made by a cow and a cat using mu.Tatoeba #9059980 by Valdast, translation #5033420 by scheherezhad
- Non posso muggire come una mucca. Sono una giumenta!I cannot moo like a cow. I'm a mare!This sentence shows the use of the verb related to the sound mu.Tatoeba #4824523 by Guybrush88, translation #1686537 by Amastan
- Le mucche muggiscono.Cows moo.This sentence demonstrates how to express that cows make the sound mu.Tatoeba #11755558 by WM3DAS, translation #8175249 by abburns
- Che suono fa la mucca?What sound does the cow make?
- Scusa, ma come si dice 'moo' in italiano?Excuse me, how do you say 'moo' in Italian?
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lorenzo and Giulia are visiting a small farm with children.
- LorenzoAscolta, la mucca fa "muu"!Listen, the cow goes "moo"!
- GiuliaSì, è un suono molto forte.Yes, it is a very loud sound.
- LorenzoVuoi provare a imitarla?Do you want to try to imitate it?
- GiuliaNo, preferisco solo guardarla.No, I prefer to just watch her.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry mu, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
