(niú nǎi) - milk, cow's milk in Mandarin
niúnǎiTraditional: 牛奶
Translation
milk, cow's milk
Word origin
A compound of 牛 (niú, ox or cow), a pictograph of a horned head, and 奶 (nǎi, milk). Literally cow milk.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 牛 (niú, cow) + 奶 (nǎi, milk)
Stroke order
牛
奶
Examples
。
I drink a glass of milk every morning.
冰？
Is there still milk in the fridge?
。
There is milk in this cup of coffee.
。
Children like drinking warm milk.
瓶。
Please buy two bottles of milk on your way back.
牛奶 (niú nǎi) is cow's milk, the ordinary white stuff in the fridge. Count it by the container: 一杯牛奶 for a glass, 一瓶 for a bottle, 一盒 for a carton. The verb is 喝, never 吃.
Other milks name their animal or plant the same way: 羊奶 from a goat, 豆奶 from soya.
The trap is dropping the 牛. 奶 on its own leans towards breast milk or towards the general idea of milk in compounds, and 奶奶 is your paternal grandmother. If you mean the drink, keep both characters.
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牛奶: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "牛奶" (milk, cow's milk): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 49.