Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 奶 | nǎi |
| 乳 | rǔ |
| 乳汁 | rǔzhī |
| 牛乳 | niúrǔ |
The term 奶 is often used as a shorthand in compound words or to refer to breast milk/nurturing. For example, you can create the word for milk powder by combining 奶 with 粉 (powder) or the word for milk tea by combining 奶 with 茶 (tea).
What does it mean word for word?
The term 牛乳 is a literal combination of 牛 (cow) and 乳 (milk).
Which one should you use?
While 奶 can refer to milk in general, 牛奶 is the standard way to specify cow's milk in daily conversation. In contrast, 乳 is more formal and is frequently used in biological or medical contexts, such as in 乳牙 (milk teeth). 牛乳 is also used to mean cow's milk, but it is used in more formal or written contexts than 牛奶.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Guangdong (Cantonese) region, milk is commonly referred to as niu5 nai5 (牛奶).
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
nǎi
Did you know?
- While 'milk' is the primary meaning, the character 乳 is visually a pictogram of a kneeling woman breastfeeding a child.
Examples in context
- 我在喝牛奶。I'm drinking milk.This sentence is useful for expressing the action of drinking milk using 奶.Tatoeba #3140495 by GlossaMatik, translation #3132269 by CK
- 乳牙很鋒利。Milk teeth are sharp.This sentence is useful for the phrase 'milk teeth' using 乳.Tatoeba #13549571 by LeviHighway, translation #9082036 by deniko
- 牛奶论品脱卖。Milk is sold by the pint.This sentence is useful for describing how milk is sold using 奶.Tatoeba #1582765 by GlossaMatik, translation #1582782 by CM
- Wǒ yào yī bēi niúnǎi, xièxiè. (我要一杯牛奶，谢谢。)I would like a glass of milk, thank you.
- Niúnǎi hěn jiànkāng. (牛奶很健康。)Milk is very healthy.
- Wǒ ài hē niúnǎi. (我爱喝牛奶。)I love drinking milk.
- 143 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Zhiqiang and Jiayi are making breakfast together.
- 志强 Zhiqiang佳怡，冰箱里还有奶吗？Jiāyí, bīngxiāng lǐ hái yǒu nǎi ma?Jiayi, is there still any milk in the fridge?
- 佳怡 Jiayi没有了，我们要去买一些。Méiyǒu le, wǒmen yào qù mǎi yīxiē.No, we need to go buy some.
- 志强 Zhiqiang我想在咖啡里加奶。Wǒ xiǎng zài kāfēi lǐ jiā nǎi.I want to add milk to my coffee.
- 佳怡 Jiayi那我现在就去超市买。Nà wǒ xiànzài jiù qù chāoshì mǎi.Then I will go to the supermarket and buy some now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “milk” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 乳, 奶, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
