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

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 Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngiù-thèu
  - Hakka Romanization System: ngiu^ˇ teu^ˇ
  - 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/

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/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ŋi̯ə̯u/	/dʱə̯u/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yóu	tóu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	ngau⁴	tau⁴

Noun

牛頭

oxhead
(humorous) Daoist priest
(rugby, informal) forward in a scrum
(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

(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): [ɡo̞zɨ]

Proper noun

牛(ご)頭(ず) • (Gozu) ^{←ごづ (Godu)^?}

(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)