How to Write 乳 (rǔ) — Meaning “milk or breast”

Picture a hand (爫) gently squeezing a breast (乚 shaped like a milk drop) to produce milk. The bent bottom stroke looks like a small stream of milk falling down, reminding you of the character's meaning.

Start with the top part 爫: write the left-falling stroke first, then the vertical and horizontal strokes. The bottom part begins with a vertical hook, followed by a horizontal bend and a final left-falling stroke—make sure the bottom horizontal is longer than the top. A common mistake is making the bottom too narrow; keep it wide and balanced.

乳 has a top part 爫 (hand) and bottom 乚, while 乩 has a top part 卜 (divination) and bottom 乚, and 乶 has a top part 丿 (a left-falling stroke) with 乚. Visually, 乳 is more complex with 8 strokes, while 乩 has 6 strokes and 乶 has 5; they are also very rare in modern Chinese except in specialized contexts.

乳 appears in formal or technical terms like 母乳 (breast milk) and 乳液 (lotion), but in daily speech people usually say 奶 for milk. It is also used in medical words such as 乳房 (breast) and 乳酪 (cheese). A cultural note: the idiom 乳臭未干 describes someone young and inexperienced, literally meaning 'still smelling of milk'.

Common words containing 乳 include: 乳酪 (rǔ lào) — cheese; 母乳 (mǔ rǔ) — Breast milk.; 乳液 (rǔ yè) — lotion.