牟

Ideogram or pictophonetic derivative, representing the sound of a cow’s lowing.

The ancient form shows:

牛 (소 우) — depicting an ox or cow.

A small mark or element 厶 — representing breath or voice emerging from the mouth.

Together, the form 牟 depicts the sound of a cow calling out, symbolizing to bellow or moo.

Thus, the original sense was “the lowing of cattle.”

According to Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字):

「牟，牛鳴也。从牛厶聲。」

“牟 means the bellowing of an ox. Formed from 牛 (‘cow’) and 厶, indicating sound.”

In later usage, it acquired extended meanings by phonetic association:

- The name of an ancient state (牟國, located in modern-day Shandong).

- A surname derived from that state (Mo).

- A phonetic loan for barley (大麥) in some ancient texts.

The same character was also borrowed in phonetic transcriptions and became the origin of the Japanese katakana syllable ム (mu), whose shape was simplified from cursive forms of 牟.

牟氏 (모씨) — the Mo family, a Chinese surname

牟國 (모국) — the ancient State of Mo (in the Zhou dynasty era)

牟牛 (모우) — a lowing ox

牟聲 (모성) — the sound of mooing

牟利 (모리) — to seek profit or gain

牟麥 (모맥) — barley (archaic term)

In ancient Chinese phonology, 牟 (móu) was used not only as a descriptive sound word but also as a phonetic component in many later characters such as 謀 (모, to plan), 蟊 (모, pest), and 眸 (모, pupil of the eye) — all borrowing its mou phonetic value.

Culturally, the image of the ox’s call (牛鳴) carries symbolic depth. The ox was regarded as a creature of endurance, diligence, and earthiness — its sound representing both vitality and the cycle of agricultural labor.

In agricultural contexts, 牟 later came to stand metaphorically for harvest, effort, and gain, leading to the modern sense in compounds like 牟利 (to seek profit).

The term thus bridges the natural and human realms: from the animal’s voice to human striving for sustenance and success.

In Japanese kana evolution, ム (mu) originated from the cursive grass-script form of 牟, simplifying its strokes while preserving its basic diagonal structure — one of the few katakana syllables directly traceable to a single ancient Chinese graph.