Meaning of 奶
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- breast
- milk
- to breastfeed
- variant of 嬭|奶[nai3]
- mother
- variant of 奶[nai3]
How to use 奶
On its own 奶 (nǎi) means milk, but it most often 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.
奶 has 女 (woman) on the left, which points to its meaning of breast, milk and breastfeeding. Picture a woman feeding a baby, and you have the idea of milk.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side of 奶 like 及 or 乃 with extra strokes. Only the plain 乃 goes next to 女. Also, 奶奶 is only the father's mother. The mother's mother is usually 外婆 (wàipó) or 姥姥 (lǎolao).
奶 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
奶 nǎi · breast · 5 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 奶.
| 奶奶 | nǎinai | (informal) grandma (paternal grandmother); (respectful) mistress of the house |
| 牛奶 | niúnǎi | cow's milk |
| 奶茶 | nǎichá | milk tea |
| 酸奶 | suānnǎi | yogurt |
| 奶牛 | nǎiniú | milk cow; dairy cow |
| 奶粉 | nǎifěn | powdered milk |
| 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 |
Questions about 奶
What does 奶 mean?
奶 (nǎi) means "breast; milk" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 奶?
奶 is made of 1 character: 奶 (5 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 奶 an HSK word?
Yes. 奶 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you pronounce 奶奶, and is the second 奶 toned?
It is said nǎinai. The first syllable keeps the third tone and the second syllable is light and neutral.
Can I just say 奶 to mean milk?
In casual speech, yes, for example 喝奶 (hē nǎi, drink milk), especially about babies. For ordering or shopping, people usually say 牛奶 (niúnǎi) to be clear.