乳胶
rǔjiāo
In Chinese, latex is translated as 乳胶 (rǔjiāo).
乳胶 refers to the milky fluid found in many plants that can be processed into a flexible rubber material. You can use this term to describe the substance itself or as a modifier for products made from it, such as 乳胶手套 (latex gloves) or 乳胶服装 (latex clothing).
What does it mean word for word?
The word 乳胶 is composed of 乳 (rǔ), meaning milk and 胶 (jiāo), meaning glue or adhesive.
Which one should you use?
While 乳胶 is the general term, more specific forms exist depending on the source or context. Use 天然乳胶 to specifically refer to natural latex and 合成乳胶 to refer to synthetic latex.
How do you pronounce it?
rǔjiāo
Did you know?
- The character 乳 in 乳胶 also appears in 乳制品, meaning 'dairy products'. This highlights a linguistic pattern where anything with a milky consistency is described using the 'milk' character, regardless of whether it comes from an animal.
- The character 胶 in 乳胶 is also used in 胶囊 to describe a pharmaceutical capsule. This demonstrates how the concept of a 'sticky' or 'pliable' material evolved to describe medical shells.
- The character 胶 is incredibly versatile, appearing in the names for 'super glue', 'plastic bags' and 'latex'. It covers a wide spectrum of materials from permanent adhesives to flexible plastics.
Examples in context
- 我喜欢穿乳胶服装。I enjoy wearing latex clothing.
- 这种手套是用乳胶做的。Zhè zhǒng shǒutào shì yòng rǔjiāo zuò de.This kind of glove is made of latex.
- 我们要大量采购天然乳胶。Wǒmen yào dàliàng cǎigòu tiānrán rǔjiāo.We need to purchase a large amount of natural latex.
- 有些人对乳胶过敏。Yǒuxiē rén duì rǔjiāo guòmǐn.Some people are allergic to latex.
Example conversation
At a factory supply store.
- 志强 Zhiqiang你们这里卖乳胶吗？Nǐmen zhèlǐ mài rǔjiāo ma?Do you sell latex here?
- 梓涵 Zihan有的，请问您需要哪种？Yǒu de, qǐngwèn nín xūyào nǎ zhǒng?Yes, what kind do you need?
- 志强 Zhiqiang我想买液体乳胶。Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yètǐ rǔjiāo.I want to buy liquid latex.
- 梓涵 Zihan好的，请跟我来。Hǎo de, qǐng gēn wǒ lái.Okay, please follow me.
