How to Write 牝 (pìn) — Meaning “female (of animals)”

Imagine a female cow (牛) holding a little spoon (匕) — this silly picture helps you recall that 牝 means a female animal. The spoon (匕) also looks like the character for 'compare', but here it just gives a sound clue. Think of 'pin' as in a pin that marks a female cow.

First write the radical 牛 (3 strokes: left-slanting stroke, two horizontals, then vertical) on the left. Then write 匕 (3 strokes: left-slanting short stroke, horizontal hook, then a right-slanting stroke). A common mistake is making the right part 匕 too wide or confusing its third stroke — it should be a gentle diagonal, not a vertical line. Keep the whole character balanced and compact.

牛 (niú) is just the radical meaning 'cow' by itself, while 牝 adds the right component 匕 to specify 'female animal'. 牟 (móu) looks similar but has ム (a private-like top) instead of 匕 — it means 'to seek' or 'to take' and is unrelated to gender. Remember: 牝 has the spoon-like 匕 on the right, while 牟 has a different top shape.

牝 is a literary or specialized character used mainly in biological or agricultural contexts to label female animals, like 牝马 (mare) and 牝牛 (cow). It is rarely used in daily conversation, but you might encounter it in classical texts or technical terms (e.g., 牝鸡司晨 meaning 'a hen crowing at dawn' — an idiom about a woman taking a man's role). Most modern speakers simply say 母 (mǔ) for 'female' instead.

Common words containing 牝 include: 牝马 (pìn mǎ) — mare; 牝牛 (pìn niú) — cow; 牝鸡 (pìn jī) — hen.