lǎo niú shì dúdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. an old ox licking its calf (idiom) / fig. (of parents) to dote on one's children
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-19c1184ce8897573. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

老牛舐犢 老牛舐犊 [lao3 niu2 shi4 du2] /lit. an old ox licking its calf (idiom)/fig. (of parents) to dote on one's children/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 老牛舐犢

  • 老
    lǎo

    prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity / old (of people) / venerable (person) / experienced / of long standing / always / all the time / of the past / very / outdated / (of meat etc) tough

  • 牛
    niú

    ox / cow / bull / CL:條|条[tiáo],頭|头[tóu] / newton (abbr. for 牛頓|牛顿[niú dùn]) / (slang) awesome

    Niú

    surname Niu

  • 舐
    shì

    to lick / to lap (up)

  • 犊
    dú

    calf / sacrificial victim

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.