niú nǎi
milk
我喜欢喝牛奶。
wǒ xǐhuān hē niúnnǎi.
I like to drink milk.
牛奶有营养。
niúnnǎi yǒu yíngyǎng.
Milk is nutritious.
牛奶是白色的。
niúnnǎi shì báisè de.
Milk is white.
鲜奶 (xiān nǎi)
fresh milk
乳汁 (rǔ zhī)
milk juice
牛乳 (niú nǎi)
cow's milk
豆浆 (dòujiāng)
soy milk
果汁 (guǒzhī)
fruit juice
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The Chinese word 牛奶 (niúnǎi) for "milk" is composed of two characters: 牛 (niú), meaning "cow", and 奶 (nǎi), meaning "liquid". The character 牛 is a pictograph depicting a cow's head, while the character 奶 is a phonetic compound, with the radical 氵(shuǐ), meaning "water", and the phonetic component 乃 (nǎi). The combination of these two characters creates the word 牛奶, which literally means "cow's liquid" or "cow's milk". This etymology reflects the fact that, in traditional Chinese culture, milk was primarily obtained from cows.
