How do you say "cow" in Japanese?

In Japanese, "cow" is (ushi). It is a noun pronounced "oo-shee".

Listen to the pronunciation:

Illustration of cow from Noun Town

Pronunciation

牛 is written in kanji. Romanised as ushi, it sounds roughly like "oo-shee" to an English ear.

Example sentence

動物園で牛を見ました。

Doubutsuen de Ushi wo mimashita.

I saw a cow at the zoo.

Usage notes

Ushi (牛) is the Japanese word for cow. Animal vocabulary is engaging for learners and appears frequently in games, zoos, farms, and nature programs.

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Questions about 牛

How do you pronounce 牛?

牛 is romanised as ushi. Say it roughly like "oo-shee" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.

Is 牛 formal or casual?

牛 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 牛 written in Japanese?

牛 is written using kanji. Kanji characters carry the core meaning; any hiragana or katakana that follow show grammatical endings.

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.