奶 (nǎi): milk

Meanings

1 milk
2 breast

Characters

奶

nǎi

milk; grandmother

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

Examples

我喜欢喝牛奶。

Wǒ xǐhuan hē niúnǎi.

I like drinking milk.

奶茶很好喝。

Nǎichá hěn hǎohē.

Milk tea is very tasty.

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).