奶油 (nǎi yóu) — cream, butter | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

creambutter

Examples

奶油。
Zhè kuài dàn gāo shàng yǒu hěn duō nǎi yóu.
There is a lot of cream on this cake.
奶油。
Tā zài miàn bāo shàng tú le nǎi yóu.
She spread butter on the bread.
奶油。
Zuò zhè dào cài xū yào yì xiē nǎi yóu hé táng.
You need some cream and sugar to make this dish.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

奶 gives milk, and 油 gives fat, so it names the fatty part of milk.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

女乃奶

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

乃

乃nǎi奶nǎi

Same sound today

奶 combines 女, a woman, and 乃, which gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

氵由油

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

由yóu油yóu

Same sound today

油 is built from 氵, a water part, and 由, which supplies the sound.

Appears in

Food (General)5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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