Mnemonic comic for

Translation

niú = ni + ou2: ox / cow / bull / CL:條|条[tiao2],頭|头[tou2] / newton (abbr. for 牛頓|牛顿[niu2 dun4]) / (slang) awesome

Mnemonic

A mnemonic is a short, deliberately ridiculous scene, built to be hard to forget. Who appears in it and where it takes place are how the pronunciation is stored; the objects in it stand for the parts the character is written with. That is the Marilyn Method, and the comic below is the same scene, drawn.

A bull has been locked to a big cross in the outhouse’s kitchen, and Nefertiti has the key. She promises to free the bull if he pledges allegiance to her leadership.

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How to pronounce 牛

MandarinBanana teaches pronunciation with the Marilyn Method: every Pinyin syllable is one initial plus one final, the initial becomes a person, an animal or a deity, and the final becomes a place in your memory palace — with the tone deciding which part of that place the scene happens in. Remember the little story below for each half and the whole syllable comes back with them.

= ni initial

Ni is for Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt Nefertiti.

By Matthias • updated 3 months ago
+ ou2 final

In the outhouse’s kitchen.

By Matthias • updated 3 months ago

牛 character breakdown

Chinese characters are built out of smaller characters. Each component carries a mnemonic symbol - one concrete object that stands in for it - and a mnemonic story hands those objects to the person and the place that stand for the pronunciation. Learn a component once and every character that reuses it gets easier.

Component Translations
Character component without intrinsic meaning
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shí = sh + Ø2
ten / 10
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Characters with 牛 as component

to be born / to give birth / life / to grow / raw / uncooked / student
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= t + e4
special / unique / distinguished / especially / unusual / very / abbr. for 特克斯[te4 ke4 si1], tex
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= w + Ø4
thing / object / matter / abbr. for physics 物理
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Words with 牛

show 266 more
cow's milk / CL:瓶[ping2],杯[bei1]
Sentences with 牛
shén
me
tiān
jūn
 
 
niú
tiān
jūn
 
 
bié

Want to remember 牛 for good?

Make it your learning target and MandarinBanana works out the shortest route to it: the two sounds its syllable is built from, then the components of the character itself, one short step at a time. No account needed to start.

niú

ox / cow / bull / CL:條|条[tiao2],頭|头[tou2] / newton (abbr. for 牛頓|牛顿[niu2 dun4]) / (slang) awesome

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