How to Write 奶 (nǎi) — Meaning “milk; grandmother”

Imagine a grandmother (女) offering you a bottle of milk while saying "knee" (乃 sounds like knee) because you might sit on her knee. This links the woman radical with the sound 乃 and the meaning of milk.

Write the left part 女 first (3 strokes: slant, stroke right, then horizontal), then write the right part 乃 (2 strokes: horizontal hook, then left-falling stroke). A common mistake is making the 乃 part too wide or writing the hook stroke too flat — keep it compact and balanced.

女 (nǚ) means woman and has only the woman radical — it is simpler and has no milk meaning. 奴 (nú, slave) has 女 on the left and 又 on the right, while 奶 has 乃 on the right. Visually, 乃 has a curving hook stroke that 又 does not have, and the meanings are completely different.

奶 appears in common words like 牛奶 (milk), 酸奶 (yogurt), and 奶奶 (paternal grandmother). It is also used in drinks like 奶茶 (milk tea) and products like 奶粉 (milk powder). Culturally, 奶奶 is a respectful term for your father's mother, highlighting the importance of family elders.

Common words containing 奶 include: 牛奶 (niú nǎi) — milk; 奶奶 (nǎi nǎi) — paternal grandmother; 酸奶 (suān nǎi) — yogurt.