How to Write 犊 (dú) — Meaning “calf”

Imagine a baby calf (犊) being sold (卖) at the market. The left side 牛 reminds you it's a cow, and the right side 卖 helps you picture the transaction. This mental image connects the two parts to the meaning 'calf'.

Write the left radical 牛 first, then the right part 卖. The top horizontal stroke of 卖 should align roughly with the top of 牛, and the bottom of 卖 extends a bit lower. A common mistake is to make the right side too narrow or to forget the dot inside 卖.

犊 (dú) means 'calf'—a young cow. 牸 (zì) means 'female cow' (adult) and is rarely used in modern Chinese. 特 (tè) originally meant 'bull' but now mainly means 'special' in words like 特别. Visually, 犊 has 牛+卖, 牸 has 牛+字, and 特 has 牛+寺.

犊 appears in words like 牛犊 (calf) and the idiom 初生牛犊 (newborn calf), which describes young people who are fearless and bold. Although not in the HSK vocabulary list, you may encounter it in agricultural texts or in cultural references to the idiom '初生牛犊不怕虎'.

Common words containing 犊 include: 牛犊 (niú dú) — calf; 犊子 (dú zi) — calf; 初生牛犊 (chū shēng niú dú) — newborn calf (fearless).