奶 (nǎi) · milk, breast

Meanings

1 milk
2 breast

Characters

奶

nǎi

milk; grandmother

女 (woman) + 乃 (to be) - 乃 gives the 'nǎi' sound.

Examples

HSK 1

我喜欢喝牛奶。

Wǒ xǐhuan hē niúnǎi.

I like drinking milk.

HSK 1

奶茶很好喝。

Nǎichá hěn hǎohē.

Milk tea is very tasty.

HSK 5

宝宝饿了，该喝奶了。

Bǎobao è le, gāi hē nǎi le.

The baby is hungry; it's time to drink milk.

Tips

culture

奶茶 (milk tea) is incredibly popular in China. Bubble tea shops are on every street corner in Chinese cities.

Components

radical

女 nǚ

woman

Left woman radical (Kangxi #38) - the indexing radical. Anchors the meaning: 奶 is breast, milk, or grandmother (奶奶) - all linked to the maternal woman. The radical groups 妈 (mum), 姐 (older sister), 妹 (younger sister), 婆 (grandma) - the female-relatives family.

phonetic

乃 nǎi

thus; then; (literary) you

Right phonetic 乃 - supplies the sound directly without shift. Standalone 乃 is a literary particle ('thus, then, namely') and a faintly archaic word for 'you'. Pictographically a stylised curving form. Same phonetic in 仍 (still), 扔 (throw), 孕 (pregnant - 乃+子).