Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
What is a female yak called?
Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
A Kyrgyz woman in a patterned coat and headscarf milks a large domestic yak on dry highland pastures with mountains in the background in the eastern Pamirs, Tajikistan.
Quick Facts
Related Topics:
Cow
yak
See all related content
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
A Kyrgyz woman in a patterned coat and headscarf milks a large domestic yak on dry highland pastures with mountains in the background in the eastern Pamirs, Tajikistan.
Yak cow A Kyrgyz woman milking a yak in the eastern Pamirs in Tajikistan.

What is a female yak called?

Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
Last updated
•History

In English, a female yak is called a cow. This designation aligns with the common practice of using cow for mature females within the bovine subfamily of bovids, to which yaks belong. Likewise, adult male yaks are called bulls in English. Terminology for this animal is different in Tibetan, where yak refers only to the male of the species and a female is known as a nak or dri.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Teagan Wolter.