断奶

斷奶
duànnǎi
verb #34,506

Meanings

  1. 1 to wean (a baby or young animal off milk)
  2. 2 to stop relying on someone else's support (figurative)

Examples

Bǎobao yī suì de shíhou kāishǐ duànnǎi.
The baby started weaning at one year old.
Dōu sānshí suì le, tā hái méi hé fùmǔ duànnǎi.
He's already thirty and still hasn't cut the cord from his parents.

Tips

usage
断奶 has a vivid figurative life: said of grown adults (especially adult children) who still depend financially or emotionally on their parents — much like English 'cut the cord' or 'still on the breast'. Common in Chinese parenting and social-commentary contexts about 啃老族 (kěnlǎozú, the 'gnaw-on-the-old' generation).
memory
= 'cut off / break' + = 'milk'. Cut off from milk = wean.

Stroke Order

duàn
nǎi