奶 meaning and stroke order
Breast; milk; to breastfeed
How to write 奶, stroke by stroke
5 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Meaning of 奶
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- breast
- milk
- to breastfeed
- variant of 嬭|奶[nai3]
- mother
- variant of 奶[nai3]
How 奶 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Woman.
女 gives the meaning and 乃 hints at the sound.
Radical: 女 (woman), shared by 156 characters on this site.
How to remember 奶
奶 combines 女 (woman) on the left, which gives the meaning, with 乃 (nǎi) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture a woman who provides milk, and let 乃 remind you how to say it: nǎi.
On its own 奶 means milk, but it usually appears in compounds like 牛奶 (niúnǎi, cow's milk), 酸奶 (suānnǎi, yogurt) and 奶茶 (nǎichá, milk tea). Doubled as 奶奶 (nǎinai), it means grandma on the father's side. Example: 我每天早上喝牛奶。(Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang hē niúnǎi.) I drink milk every morning.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 及 (jí) or 仍 without the person radical confused, but the component is 乃, which has only two strokes and no extra dot or hook. Also note that the second 奶 in 奶奶 is said in the neutral tone: nǎinai, not nǎi nǎi.
Common words with 奶
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 奶奶 | nǎinai | (informal) grandma (paternal grandmother); (respectful) mistress of the house | HSK 1 |
| 牛奶 | niúnǎi | cow's milk | HSK 1 |
| 奶茶 | nǎichá | milk tea | HSK 3 |
| 酸奶 | suānnǎi | yogurt | HSK 4 |
| 奶牛 | nǎiniú | milk cow; dairy cow | HSK 6 |
| 奶粉 | nǎifěn | powdered milk | HSK 6 |
| 奶酪 | nǎilào | cheese | |
| 奶油 | nǎiyóu | cream; butter | |
| 奶子 | nǎizi | (coll.) milk; (coll.) breast | |
| 奶昔 | nǎixī | milkshake (Note: 昔[xi1] is loaned from English "shake" via Cantonese 昔, pr. sik1) | |
| 老奶奶 | lǎonǎinai | (coll.) father's father's mother; paternal great-grandmother | |
| 奶妈 | nǎimā | wet nurse | |
| 奶头 | nǎitóu | nipple; teat (on baby's bottle) | |
| 挤奶 | jǐnǎi | to milk |
奶 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 奶
How many strokes are in 奶?
奶 is written with 5 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 奶 mean?
奶 (nǎi) means breast; milk; to breastfeed. A common word with it is 奶奶 (nǎinai), meaning "(informal) grandma (paternal grandmother); (respectful) mistress of the house".
How do you pronounce 奶?
奶 is pronounced nǎi, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 奶?
The radical of 奶 is 女, which carries the idea of "woman". Dictionaries list 奶 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 奶?
The traditional form of 奶 is 妳 and 嬭. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 奶 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 奶 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 奶 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
What is the difference between 奶奶 and 外婆?
奶奶 (nǎinai) is your father's mother. Your mother's mother is usually called 外婆 (wàipó) or 姥姥 (lǎolao), depending on the region.
Does 奶 mean butter or cream?
Not by itself. Cream or butter is 奶油 (nǎiyóu), and cheese is 奶酪 (nǎilào). 奶 alone simply means milk.