Character by character
root, origin, source; basis
cow, ox, bull; Kangxi radical 93; 9th lunar mansion, determinative star β Capricorni (Dabih)
Why it works
Returning to origins with ox-like steadiness, symbolizing diligence and staying true to roots.
Why it reads this way
本牛 (Běn Niú) is an editorial Chinese given name. 本 means root, origin, source; basis. 牛 means cow, ox, bull; Kangxi radical 93; 9th lunar mansion, determinative star β Capricorni (Dabih). The feel is sturdy, hardworking, humble, leaning male. It's a literary two-character given name, so use it as a starting point and check the full name with a Chinese speaker.
Sound
The pinyin is Běn Niú. Say it slowly, then at normal speed. If a tone feels difficult, practice the syllable alone before putting the full name together. A Chinese speaker will usually understand an imperfect tone in context, but the closer you get, the more natural the name feels.
How to introduce it
“My Chinese name is 本牛. 本 — root, origin, source; basis; 牛 — cow, ox, bull; Kangxi radical 93; 9th lunar mansion, determinative star β Capricorni (Dabih).”
A common full-name pattern would be 李本牛 (Lǐ Běn Niú), using the surname 李. You can also use no surname at all.
This page is editorial. A name can be a good fit even if it is not in our corpus; use the name checker for an existing name, or the Finder for a new one.