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牛毛

Mandarin · pinyin niú máo

ox hair (used as a metaphor for sth very numerous or sth fine and delicate)

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Characters in this entry

牛: niú · cow, ox, bull; Kangxi radical 93; 9th lunar mansion, determinative star β Capricorni (Dabih)
毛: máo · hair, fur, feathers; coarse

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–2 · niu2 mao2

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Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(literally) cattle hair
(figurative) something that is fine and numerous

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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