also: ぎゅう
This farmer keeps one hundred head of cattle.
noun
Only with reading ぎゅう
Food and cooking use; usually read ぎゅう, especially when contrasted with pork or chicken. 牛肉 is the more explicit full word for beef.
See also: 牛肉
肉は牛にしますか、豚にしますか。
Would you like beef or pork for the meat?
この店は牛のたたきが人気だ。
Seared beef is popular at this restaurant.
noun
Ox constellation; one of the 28 lunar mansions
Only with reading ぎゅう
Astronomical and traditional East Asian calendrical term; read ぎゅう and used as the name of one of the 二十八宿.
二十八宿の一つに牛がある。
One of the twenty-eight lunar mansions is 牛, read gyū.
Katakana spelling; useful in zoological, scientific, or species-label contexts.
牛 is the standard kanji associated with cattle. うし is the native Japanese reading, while ぎゅう is the Sino-Japanese on-yomi used in compounds, food terms, and traditional names.