Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

zebu

/ˈzi.b(j)u/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.78 in modern English

Syllables
ze-bu
IPA
/ˈzi.b(j)u/
15
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A domesticated ox native to Asia and Africa, having a large fleshy hump on its back and a dewlap (Bos taurus indicus or bos indicus).

Etymology

Borrowed from French zébu, probably from Tibetan མཛོ་པོ (mdzo po, “male bull–yak hybrid”), whence also zobo.

Word Breakdown

  • Root: མཛོ་པོ

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈzi.b(j)u/
  • British English: /ˈziː.b(j)uː/

Inflected Forms

zebus (plural)

Derived Forms

zebuine

Frequently Paired Words

cattabu

Synonyms

Indian ox

Rhymes With

debut

Questions

How do you pronounce zebu?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈzi.b(j)u/.
What does zebu mean?
A domesticated ox native to Asia and Africa, having a large fleshy hump on its back and a dewlap (Bos taurus indicus or bos indicus).
Where does zebu come from?
Borrowed from French zébu, probably from Tibetan མཛོ་པོ (mdzo po, “male bull–yak hybrid”), whence also zobo.

How to pronounce zebu

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “zebu”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈzi.b(j)u/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “zebu”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “zebu” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.