牧 (mù): to herd, to breed livestock, to govern (old)
牧 (mù) is a Chinese character meaning “to herd.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 牛 (structural) and 攵 (structural). It ranks #1570 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 牧 a hand 攵 leading an ox 牛. Its radical form 牛 (cow) appears in many related characters such as 牛 (niú, ox), 物 (wù, (bound form) thing), 特 (tè, special).
Definitions
- to herd
- to breed livestock
- to govern (old)
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA hand 攵 leading an ox 牛
Decomposition: ⿰牛攵 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 牧 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 牧师noun | mù shī | chaplain |
| 牧场noun | mù chǎng | pasture |
| 牧羊人noun | mù yáng rén | shepherd |
| 牧羊犬noun | mù yáng quǎn | sheepdog |
| 牧羊verb | mù yáng | to raise sheep |
| 游牧verb | yóu mù | nomadic |
| 牧人noun | mù rén | shepherd |
| 放牧verb | fàng mù | to graze (livestock) |
| 牧草noun | mù cǎo | pasture grass |
| 牧民noun | mù mín | herdsman |
| 牧童noun | mù tóng | shepherd boy |
| 牧群noun | mù qún | herd of sheep |
| 牧业noun | mù yè | livestock husbandry |
| 畜牧业noun | xù mù yè | animal husbandry |
| 牧歌noun | mù gē | shepherd's song |
牧 appears in 42 compound words: 62 as the first character, 33 as the last, and 5 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 牧 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
牧字在日常生活中使用频率较低。
mù zì zài rì cháng shēng huó zhōng shǐ yòng pín lǜ jiào dī .
The character "牧" is not frequently used in everyday life.
...锡林郭勒草原兽医林岩:医者仁心,32载护牧兴
. . . xī lín guō lè cǎo yuán shòu yī lín yán : yī zhě rén xīn , 3 2 zài hù mù xīng
...Lin Yan, a veterinarian on the Xilingol Grasslands: A Compassionate Healer, 32 Years of Dedication to Herders and Livestock
大盘商有补助买猪?彰化畜牧业盼毛猪交易均价回稳
dà pán shāng yǒu bǔ zhù mǎi zhū ? zhāng huà chù mù yè pàn máo zhū jiāo yì jūn jià huí wěn
Do large-scale traders have subsidies to buy pigs? Changhua Animal Husbandry hopes that the average price of hairy pig transactions will stabilize
...狗狗玩能减压?研究指主人与狗心跳可同步 牧羊犬“感应”最强
. . . gǒu gǒu wán néng jiǎn yā ? yán jiū zhǐ zhǔ rén yǔ gǒu xīn tiào kě tóng bù mù yáng quǎn gǎn yīng zuì qiáng
... Can dog play reduce stress? Research shows that the owner and the dog's heartbeat can be synchronized Shepherd dogs have the strongest "induction"
牧原股份(02714)建议改名“牧原食品集...
mù yuán gǔ fèn ( 0 2 7 1 4 ) jiàn yì gǎi míng mù yuán shí pǐn jí . . .
Muyuan Co., Ltd. (02714) proposed to change the name to "Muyuan Food Collection...
阿尔卑斯高山牧场:田园风光背后的艰难现实
ā ěr bēi sī gāo shān mù chǎng : tián yuán fēng guāng bèi hòu de jiān nán xiàn shí
Alpine pastures: the hard reality behind the idyllic scenery
牛在草地上吃牧草。
Niú zài cǎodì shàng chī mùcǎo.
Cows are grazing in the meadow.
牧场的面积有10英亩。
Mùchǎng de miànjī yǒu 10 yīngmǔ.
The pasture has an area of 10 acres.
“天主是我们的救援。”，牧师说。
"Tiānzhǔ shì wǒmen de jiùyuán.", mùshī shuō.
"God is our salvation," said the priest.
牧师的主要职责是在教堂里讲道。
Mùshī de zhǔyào zhízé shì zàijiào táng lǐ jiǎngdào.
The main duty of a priest is to preach in church.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 牧 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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