奶 (nǎi) — breast; milk; (informal) grandmother (short for 奶奶)

Definition

A single character with three distinct senses: 'milk' (the food/drink), 'breast', and the familiar address 'grandma' (short for 奶奶). The noun sense is concrete; the 'grandma' use is casual, family-style.

noun
breastmilk(informal) grandmother (short for 奶奶)
Measure word · 杯
Easily confused

Examples

  • 奶。
    Wǒ měi tiān hē yì bēi nǎi.
    I drink a glass of milk every day.
  • 奶。
    Mā ma de nǎi gěi yīng ér hē.
    The mother's breast provides milk for the baby.
  • 奶，。
    nǎi, Wǒ fàng xué huí lái le.
    Grandma, I'm back from school.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
乃
乃nǎi奶nǎi
Same sound today

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

Appears in
BeveragesFamily & Kinship3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.