Definition
放牛 is a separable verb (离合词) — 放 means 'to tend/to put out to graze' and 牛 means 'cattle'. When you add aspect markers (了, 过) or measure words (次), they go between the two syllables: 放了三天牛 ('herded cattle for three days'), 放过一次牛 ('have herded cattle once'). You cannot put an object after 放牛; instead, the context makes the object clear or you use a location phrase.
v.o.
to herd cattleto graze cattle
Examples
- 放牛。Tā zài xiāngxia fàng niú.He herds cattle in the countryside.
- 。Tā fàng guo sān cì niú.He has herded cattle three times.
- 放牛。Xiǎo shíhou wǒ tiāntiān fàng niú.When I was young, I herded cattle every day.
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