(nǎi) - Breast, milk & an archaic term for mother or grandmother

Tone 3

nǎi | 17 strokes | radical:

· nǎi

Breast, milk;

an archaic term for mother or grandmother;

used in some dialects to refer to a wet nurse.

Breast, milkan archaic term for mother or grandmotherused in some dialects to refer to a

Usage highlights

GrandmotherWet nurseBreast milkTo breastfeedMilk nameMilk teeth

Synonyms

  • milk, breast (modern simplified form)
  • mother
  • milk, breast

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The baby is drinking milk (吃嬭).
  • In some dialects, grandmother is called 阿嬭 (ā nǎi).
  • She works as a wet nurse (嬭母).
  • This is breast milk (嬭汁).

Collocations

  • Grandmother(阿嬭)
  • Wet nurse(嬭母)
  • Breast milk(嬭汁)
  • To breastfeed(喂嬭)
  • Milk name(嬭名)
  • Milk teeth(嬭牙)

Idioms

  • Like a baby longing for its mother's milk(如嬰兒之望嬭)
  • To return to one's origins(返嬭歸真)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Historically used as a respectful term for mother or grandmother in certain regions and time periods.
  • In traditional Chinese medicine, breast milk was considered to have nutritional and medicinal properties.
  • The character reflects the importance of maternal care and breastfeeding in traditional family structures.

FAQ