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牛鼻子

Mandarin · pinyin niú bí zi

key point
crux
(old) Daoist (facetious)

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Characters in this entry

牛: niú · cow, ox, bull; Kangxi radical 93; 9th lunar mansion, determinative star β Capricorni (Dabih)
鼻: bí · nose; first; Kangxi radical 209
子: zǐ · offspring, child; fruit, seed of; first earthly branch

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

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Mandarin tones

2–2–5 · niu2 bi2 zi5

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

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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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 3 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ngau4 bei6 zi2

Cantonese word readings for 牛鼻子. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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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

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see 牛 (niú), 鼻子: ox muzzle
(figuratively) crux; key element; crucial point
(informal, dated) Taoist priest

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

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