牛頭

Chinese

		ox; cow; bull	head; (noun suffix)
trad. (牛頭)		牛	頭
simp. (牛头)		牛	头

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): niútóu

  (Zhuyin): ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄊㄡˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ngau⁴ tau⁴
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): ngiù-thèu
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): gû-thâu

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: niútóu
    • Zhuyin: ㄋㄧㄡˊ ㄊㄡˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: nióutóu
    • Wade–Giles: niu²-tʻou²
    • Yale: nyóu-tóu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: nioutour
    • Palladius: нютоу (njutou)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ni̯oʊ̯³⁵ tʰoʊ̯³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ngau⁴ tau⁴
    • Yale: ngàuh tàuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ngau⁴ tau⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: ngeo⁴ teo⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋɐu̯²¹ tʰɐu̯²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngiù-thèu
    • Hakka Romanization System: ngiuˇ teuˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: ngiu² teu²
    • Sinological IPA: /ŋi̯u¹¹ tʰeu̯¹¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gû-thâu
    • Tâi-lô: gû-thâu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: gu'taau
    • IPA (Xiamen): /ɡu²⁴⁻²² tʰau²⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /ɡu²⁴⁻²² tʰau²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /ɡu¹³⁻²² tʰau¹³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /ɡu²⁴⁻¹¹ tʰau²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɡu²³⁻³³ tʰau²³/

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• Middle Chinese: ngjuw duw

Rime
Character	牛	頭
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	疑 (31)	定 (7)
Final (韻)	尤 (136)	侯 (137)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	I
Fanqie	語求切	度侯切
Baxter	ngjuw	duw
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ŋɨu/	/dəu/
Pan Wuyun	/ŋiu/	/dəu/
Shao Rongfen	/ŋiəu/	/dəu/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ŋuw/	/dəw/
Li Rong	/ŋiu/	/du/
Wang Li	/ŋĭəu/	/dəu/
Bernard Karlgren	/ŋi̯ə̯u/	/dʱə̯u/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yóu	tóu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ngau4	tau4

Noun

牛頭

1. oxhead
2. (humorous) Daoist priest
3. (rugby, informal) forward in a scrum
4. (Taiwan) leader of a class of underachievers (someone who always leads classmates in fooling around)

Synonyms

• (Taoist priest):

• 先生 (xiānshēng) (literary)
• 喃嘸佬／喃呒佬 (naam⁴ mo⁴ lou²) (Cantonese)
• 老道 (lǎodào) (informal)
• 道人 (dàorén) (honorific)
• 道士 (dàoshì)
• 道長／道长 (dàozhǎng) (polite)

 

See also

• 放牛班

Proper noun

牛頭

1. (Buddhism, Taoism, Chinese mythology, Japanese mythology) Ox-Head, one of the two guardians of hell

Derived terms

• 牛頭馬面／牛头马面 (niútóumǎmiàn)

 

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (牛頭):

• → Japanese: 牛頭(ごず) (Gozu)

See also

• 馬面／马面 (mǎmiàn)

Further reading

• Ding, Fubao (丁福保) (1922), “牛頭” in 佛學大辭典 [A Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms].

Japanese

Kanji in this term
牛	頭
ご Grade: 2	ず Grade: 2
on’yomi

Etymology

Calque of Sanskrit गोशीर्ष (gośīrṣa).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ご​ず [góꜜzù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɡo̞zɨᵝ]

Proper noun

牛(ご)頭(ず) • (Gozu) ^{←ごづ (godu)?}

1. (Buddhism, Chinese mythology, Japanese mythology) Ox-Head, one of the two guardians of hell

See also

• 馬(め)頭(ず) (Mezu)
• 牛(ご)頭(ず)馬(め)頭(ず) (Gozu Mezu)