奶奶 meaning in English

nǎinai

(informal) grandma (paternal grandmother); (respectful) mistress of the house

HSK 1noun10 strokes

Meaning of 奶奶

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

nǎinai

(informal) grandma (paternal grandmother)
(respectful) mistress of the house
(coll.) boobies
breasts

Measure word: 位

How to use 奶奶

奶奶 is what you call your father's mother, and children also use it politely for any elderly woman. Example: 我奶奶今年八十岁。(Wǒ nǎinai jīnnián bāshí suì.) My grandma is eighty this year.

奶 (nǎi) means milk and is built from 女 (woman) on the left. Doubling it gives 奶奶, the woman of the family you call by a warm, repeated baby-talk word: grandma.

Common mistake: Learners often use 奶奶 for both grandmothers, but your mother's mother is 外婆 (wàipó) or 姥姥 (lǎolao). Also, the second 奶 is neutral tone, so say nǎinai, not nǎinǎi.

奶奶 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

奶nǎi奶nǎi死sǐ了le，全quán家jiā大dà惊jīng。

Grandmother died, leaving the whole family stunned.

我wǒ记jì不bù清qīng奶nǎi奶nǎi的de脸liǎn。

I don't remember my grandmother's face accurately.

她tā一yì直zhí带dài奶nǎi奶nǎi去qù散sàn步bù。

She always takes her grandmother for a walk.

这zhè是shì我wǒ奶nǎi奶nǎi的de假jiǎ牙yá。

It's my grandmother's set of false teeth.

我wǒ和hé妈mā妈mā，弟dì弟di还hái有yǒu爷yé爷yé奶nǎi奶nǎi住zhù在zài一yì起qǐ。

I live with my mother, brother and my grandparents.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

奶 nǎi · breast · 5 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 奶奶.

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
奶头	nǎitóu	nipple; teat (on baby's bottle)

Questions about 奶奶

What does 奶奶 mean?

奶奶 (nǎinai) means "(informal) grandma (paternal grandmother); (respectful) mistress of the house" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 奶奶?

奶奶 is made of 2 characters: 奶 (5 strokes), 奶 (5 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.

Is 奶奶 an HSK word?

Yes. 奶奶 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the word for grandpa that goes with 奶奶?

Your father's father is 爷爷 (yéye). The pair 爷爷奶奶 (yéye nǎinai) means paternal grandparents.

Can I call an old woman I don't know 奶奶?

Yes. Children and young people often address elderly women as 奶奶 to show respect and warmth. Adults may also say 老奶奶 (lǎo nǎinai) when talking about an elderly woman.