乳制品
ru zhi pin
In Chinese, the word for dairy is 乳制品 (ru zhi pin).
乳制品 is used as a collective noun to refer to the category of dairy goods, such as cheese, yogurt and butter.
Meaning: products produced from milk (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term 乳制品 is composed of 乳 (milk), 制 (to make or manufacture) and 品 (product or article).
How do you pronounce it?
ru zhi pin
Did you know?
- The character 乳 is an ideogram that originally depicted a breast. This visual origin connects 'dairy' directly to the source of the milk rather than the animal it comes from.
- Because lactose intolerance is highly common in East Asia, 乳制品 were historically rare in the Chinese diet. This is why many traditional Chinese desserts use soy milk, which is not considered a 乳制品.
- In some Chinese dialects, the word for milk, 奶, is also used as a prefix for 'grandmother' or 'nanny', linking the substance to maternal or caregiving figures.
Examples in context
- 今天的早餐有奶制品吗？Is there any dairy for breakfast today?
- 他不喜欢吃乳制品。Tā bù xǐhuān chī rǔzhìpǐn.He does not like eating dairy products.
- 超市里有很多乳制品。Chāoshì lǐ yǒu hěnduō rǔzhìpǐn.There are many dairy products in the supermarket.
- 这些乳制品需要冷藏。Zhèxiē rǔzhìpǐn xūyào lěngcáng.These dairy products need to be refrigerated.
Example conversation
A man and a woman are shopping at a grocery store.
- 梓涵 Zihan浩然，你要买乳制品吗？Hàorán, nǐ yào mǎi rǔzhìpǐn ma?Haoran, do you want to buy dairy products?
- 浩然 Haoran我想买点酸奶。Wǒ xiǎng mǎi diǎn suānnǎi.I want to buy some yogurt.
- 梓涵 Zihan那我们去那边找吧。Nà wǒmen qù nàbiān zhǎo ba.Then let's go look over there.
- 浩然 Haoran好的，梓涵。Hǎo de, Zǐhán.Okay, Zihan.
