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JLPT N18画 · 8 strokesradical 乙grade 6freq #1289

milk, breasts

On'yomi (音読み)

  • ニュウ

Kun'yomi (訓読み)

  • ちち

Mnemonic

The shape of the kanji resembles a mother's breasts nurturing her child with nourishing milk.

About this kanji

The kanji 「乳」 primarily means "milk" and can also refer to "breasts." It is typically used as a noun. You may encounter it in compounds like 牛乳 (ぎゅうにゅう), which means "cow's milk," and 乳児 (にゅうじ), meaning "infant"—a term used for babies under one year old. Another common compound is 母乳 (ぼにゅう), which means "mother's milk." Additionally, 乳製品 (にゅうせいひん) refers to "dairy products." A usage note is that while this kanji has specific meanings in these contexts, it can also carry more biological connotations when discussing human or animal anatomy.

Example sentences

  • 彼女は乳をあげている。

    She is breastfeeding.

Meanings across languages

English
milk, breasts
Tiếng Việt
sữa, ngực
日本語
乳, おっぱい
한국어
우유, 유방
中文
乳, 奶
id
susu, payudara
th
นม, เต้านม
es
leche, pechos
fr
lait, seins
de
Milch, Brust
pt
leite, seios

Common compounds

  • 牛乳ぎゅうにゅう(cow's) milk
  • 乳児にゅうじinfant (below 1 year old), suckling baby
  • 母乳ぼにゅうmother's milk
  • 乳房ちぶさbreast, udder
  • 乳製品にゅうせいひんdairy products
  • 乳幼児にゅうようじbabies and preschool children
  • 授乳じゅにゅうbreastfeeding, nursing, suckling
  • 豆乳とうにゅうsoy milk

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