牟

牟 U+725F, 牟 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-725F ← 牞 [U+725E] CJK Unified Ideographs 牠 → [U+7260]

Translingual

Han character

牟 (Kangxi radical 93, 牛+2, 6 strokes, cangjie input 戈竹手 (IHQ), four-corner 2350₀, composition ⿱厶牛)

Derived characters

• 侔, 哞, 㛌, 恈, 洠, 䏬, 桙, 毪, 眸, 蛑, 鉾(𫓴), 𩶢, 麰(𮮇), 劺, 𬼪, 𭷢, 𭷪, 𭷬, 𭷲, 鴾, 𡧷, 𦭷, 𥭏, 𨴍

Descendants

• ム (Katakana character derived from Man'yōgana)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 697, character 6
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 19928
• Dae Jaweon: page 1109, character 4
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 3, page 1800, character 7
• Unihan data for U+725F

Chinese

simp. and trad.		牟
alternative forms		𠫚 ⿱厶干 𢃷

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 牟
Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Bronze inscriptions	Small seal script

Characters in the same phonetic series (牟) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
牟	*mu
眸	*mu
侔	*mu
蛑	*mu
麰	*mu
劺	*mu
恈	*mu
鴾	*mu

Ideogram (指事): An ox (牛) with a symbol (now 厶) to represent its lowing.

Etymology

“moo”

Onomatopoeic.

“to seek; to obtain”

By extension of 蛑 (OC *mu, “a type of pest that eats sprouts and roots”).

“to love”

Cognate with 慕 (OC *maːɡs, “to admire”) (Schuessler, 2007).

“look; appearance”

Variant of 模 (MC mu).

“spear”

Variant of 矛 (MC mjuw).

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): móu (mou²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄇㄡˊ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): mu²

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mau⁴
• Hakka

  (Sixian, PFS): mèu

  (Hailu, HRS): meu

  (Meixian, Guangdong): mêu²

• Eastern Min (BUC): mèu
• Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): bieo²
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): bô͘ / biô

  (Teochew, Peng'im): mou⁵

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶meu
• Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): lau²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: móu
    • Zhuyin: ㄇㄡˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: móu
    • Wade–Giles: mou²
    • Yale: móu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: mou
    • Palladius: моу (mou)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /moʊ̯³⁵/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: mu²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: mu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mu²¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong–Macau)
    • Jyutping: mau⁴
    • Yale: màuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mau⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: meo⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɐu̯²¹/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: mèu
    • Hakka Romanization System: meu^ˇ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: meu²
    • Sinological IPA: /meu̯¹¹/
  • (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
    • Hakka Romanization System: meu
    • Sinological IPA: /meu⁵⁵/
  • (Meixian)
    • Guangdong: mêu²
    • Sinological IPA: /meu¹¹/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: mèu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɛu⁵³/
• Puxian Min
  • (Putian)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: bieo²
    • Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: bá̤u
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pieu¹³/
  • (Xianyou)
    • Pouseng Ping'ing: bieo²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pieu²⁴/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bô͘
    • Tâi-lô: bôo
    • Phofsit Daibuun: boo
    • IPA (Xiamen, Taipei): /bɔ²⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /bɔ²³/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /bɔ¹³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: biô
    • Tâi-lô: biô
    • Phofsit Daibuun: biooi
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /bio²⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: mou⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: môu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mou⁵⁵/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶meu
    • MiniDict: meu^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³meu
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /mɤ²³/
• Xiang
  • (Changsha)
    • Wiktionary: lau²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɒu̯¹³/

---

• Middle Chinese: mjuw

Rime
Character	牟
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	明 (4)
Final (韻)	尤 (136)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	莫浮切
Baxter	mjuw
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/mɨu/
Pan Wuyun	/miu/
Shao Rongfen	/miəu/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/muw/
Li Rong	/miu/
Wang Li	/mĭəu/
Bernhard Karlgren	/mi̯ə̯u/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	móu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	mau4

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*mu/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	牟
Reading #	1/1
No.	9267
Phonetic component	牟
Rime group	幽
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	謀
Old Chinese	/*mu/

Definitions

牟

1. (onomatopoeia) the sound of cattle: moo

   alt. forms: 哞 (mōu)

2. to seek; to obtain; to seize

   alt. forms: 侔 (móu)

3. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to exceed; to increase; to double
4. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) broad; great
5. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) longlasting
6. (Han dynasty, Sòng-Lǔ dialect) to love
7. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) look; appearance
8. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) spear
9. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 麰 / 𮮇 (móu, “barley”)

   • 貽我來牟、帝命率育。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     贻我来牟、帝命率育。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Yí wǒ mài móu, dì mìng shuài yù. [Pinyin]

     Thou didst confer on us the wheat and the barley, which God appointed for the nourishment of all;

10. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 眸 (móu, “eyeball”)
11. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 堥 (“earthen pot”)
12. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 侔 (móu, “to be equal”)
13. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 鍪 (móu, “helmet”)
14. (～國) (historical) Mou (an ancient state in modern-day Shandong, China)
15. a surname

    牟宗三  ―  Móu Zōngsān  ―  Mou Zongsan (20th-century Chinese philosopher)

Compounds

• 來牟 / 来牟
• 侵牟
• 岑牟
• 牟利 (móulì)
• 牟取 (móuqǔ)
• 牟尼
• 釋迦牟尼 / 释迦牟尼 (Shìjiāmóuní)
• 頓牟 / 顿牟

Pronunciation 2

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): mù (mu⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄇㄨˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): muk⁶
• Southern Min (Teochew, Peng'im): mou⁵ / mong⁵

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: mù
    • Zhuyin: ㄇㄨˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: mù
    • Wade–Giles: mu⁴
    • Yale: mù
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: muh
    • Palladius: му (mu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mu⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong–Macau)
    • Jyutping: muk⁶
    • Yale: muhk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: muk⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: mug⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mʊk̚²/
• Southern Min
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: mou⁵ / mong⁵
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: môu / mông
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mou⁵⁵/, /moŋ⁵⁵/

Definitions

牟

1. Used in place names.
2. a surname

Compounds

• 中牟 (Zhōngmù, “Zhongmu”)
• 牟平 (Mùpíng, “Muping”)

References

• Dictionary of Chinese Character Variants (教育部異體字字典), A02487
• “牟”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
• (Min Nan) “牟”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2025.

Japanese

Kanji

See also:

Category:Japanese terms spelled with 牟

牟

(Jinmeiyō kanji)

1. pupil (hole in middle of an iris)
2. moo (lowing sound of a cow)

Readings

• Go-on: む (mu)
• Kan-on: ぼう (bō)

Compounds

• 牟牟(ぼうぼう) (bōbō)
• 牟尼(むに) (muni)
• 牟礼(むれ) (Mure)
• 牟婁(むろ) (Muro)
• 大(おお)穴(あな)牟(む)遅(ちの)神(かみ) (Ōanamuchi no Kami)
• 大(おお)牟田(むた) (Ōmuta)
• 莫(まく)牟(も) (makumo)

Usage notes

• Used in Old Japanese as a 借音 (shakuon) kana for ⟨mu⟩.

References

• Family Register Unified Characters (戸籍統一文字) 224330

Korean

Hanja

牟 • (mo) (hangeul 모, revised mo, McCune–Reischauer mo, Yale mo)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

牟: Hán Nôm readings: mưu, màu, mâu, mầu, mào

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

References

• Nom Foundation