奶
milk, woman's breasts, nurse
Strokes5
Readings
On'yomi
- ダイ
- ネ
- ナイ
Kun'yomi
- ちち
- はぐく.む
Meaning
奶 centers on the nurturing, life-giving role of a woman: milk, breasts, and the act of nursing or caring for an infant.
Study
Etymology
奶 combines 女 (woman) with 乃, which likely acts as a phonetic component. The character is associated with the female breast and nursing.
Meaning mnemonic
A woman 女 with a breast-like shape 乃 beside her: 奶 represents the milk and nursing care a woman provides.
Reading mnemonic
For ダイ, picture a mother nursing her baby while saying 'die' (as in 'that's my little die-die' — a playful invented sound for a baby). The sound 'die' cues ダイ, and the scene ties to the nurturing meaning.