Definition
牧马 is a verb-object compound (离合词) meaning 'to herd horses' — the verb 牧 ('herd, tend livestock') takes 马 ('horse') as its grammatical object. When adding duration measures or aspect markers, the two characters split apart like similar compounds: e.g. 牧了三天马 ('herded horses for three days') or 牧过马 ('have herded horses before'). The word is somewhat literary and specific to pastoral contexts.
v.o.
to herd horsesto tend horses
Examples
- 牧马。Tā zài cǎoyuán shàng mù mǎ.He herds horses on the grassland.
- 。Tā mù le sān tiān mǎ cái huílai.He herded horses for three days before coming back.
- ，。Wǒ cónglái méi mù guo mǎ, dàn hěn xiǎng shìshi.I've never herded horses before, but I'd really like to try.
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