乃 (nǎi): to be, thus, so
乃 (nǎi) is a Chinese character meaning “to be.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 丿 (structural). It ranks #1163 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 乃 a pregnant woman; compare 孕. Its radical form 丿 (slash) appears in many related characters such as 么 (me, suffix used in 什么 (what), 这么 (so), 怎么 (how) etc), 久 (jiǔ, (of a period of time) long), 乐 (lè, happy).
Definitions
- to be
- thus
- so
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA pregnant woman; compare 孕
Stroke Order
Practice writing 乃 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 木乃伊noun | mù nǎi yī | (loanword) mummy (preserved corpse) |
| 乃是verb | nǎi shì | equivalent to either 是 or 就是 |
| 康乃馨noun | kāng nǎi xīn | carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) (loanword) |
| 乃至conjunction | nǎi zhì | and even |
| 西乃山proper-noun | xī nǎi shān | Mount Sinai |
| 安乃近noun | ān nǎi jìn | analgin (loanword) |
| 美乃滋noun | měi nǎi zī | mayonnaise (loanword) (Tw) |
| 乃东区 | nǎi dōng qū | Nedong, a district of Shannan City 山南市, Tibet |
| 乃堆拉山口 | nǎi duī lā shān kǒu | Nathu La (Himalayan pass on the Silk Road between Tibet and the northeastern Indian state of Sikkim) |
| 乃们 | nǎi men | you (plural) (slang alternative for 你們|你们) |
| 百胜难虑敌，三折乃良医 | bǎi shèng nán lǜ dí , sān zhé nǎi liáng yī | (a line from a poem by the Tang poet Liu Yuxi 劉禹錫|刘禹锡) one gains very little insight into one's enemy f... |
| 西乃proper-noun | xī nǎi | Sinai |
| 乃东 | nǎi dōng | see 乃東區|乃东区 |
| 木乃伊化 | mù nǎi yī huà | to mummify |
| 乃尔adverb | nǎi ěr | thus |
乃 appears in 21 compound words: 38 as the first character, 14 as the last, and 48 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 乃 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
了解乃字的来源，有助于理解中国文化。
le xiè nǎi zì de lái yuán , yǒu zhù yú lǐ xiè zhōng guó wén huā .
Understanding the origin of the character "乃" helps to comprehend Chinese culture.
峇迪航空士乃直飞槟城启航 黄汉伟:国际与国内航线并重...
峇 dí háng kōng shì nǎi zhí fēi 槟 chéng qǐ háng huáng hàn wěi : guó jì yǔ guó nèi háng xiàn bìng chóng . . .
Badi Airlines Launches Direct Flights from Senai to Penang; Wong Han Wai: Balancing International and Domestic Routes...
影/郑习会何时成行?尹乃菁:水到渠成时
yǐng zhèng xí huì hé shí chéng háng ? 尹 nǎi 菁 : shuǐ dào qú chéng shí
Video: When Will the Zheng-Xi Meeting Take Place? Yin Nai-ching: When the Time Is Right
AV女优塔乃花铃突传引退 作品全面下架 或因“他们”...
A V nǚ yōu tǎ nǎi huā líng tū chuán yǐn tuì zuò pǐn quán miàn xià jià huò yīn tā men . . .
AV actress Tano Hana Suzuru suddenly retired, and her works were completely removed from the shelves or because of "them"...
挑战恐怖片极限尺度!《墓乃伊》皮肤指甲扭曲变形 骇人模样曝光
tiāo zhàn kǒng bù piàn jí xiàn chǐ dù ! mù nǎi yī pí fū zhǐ jiǎ niǔ qū biàn xíng hài rén mó yàng pù guāng
Challenge the limits of horror movies! "Tomb Nai" skin and nails are twisted and deformed, and the terrifying appearance is exposed
电影《李·克罗宁之木乃伊》正式预告
diàn yǐng lǐ kè luó nìng zhī mù nǎi yī zhèng shì yù gào
The movie "Lee Cronin's Mummy" is officially trailed
我在母亲节送给我的妈妈一束康乃馨。
Wǒ zài Mǔqīnjié sònggěi wǒ de māma yī shù kāngnǎixīn.
I gave my mother carnations on Mother's Day.
我的教练说："失败乃成功之母"。
Wǒ de jiàoliàn shuō:"shībài nǎi chénggōng zhī mǔ ".
My coach said, "Failure teaches success."
道德上的恶乃是无知的后果。
Dàodé shàng de è nǎishì wúzhī de hòuguǒ.
Moral evil is the result of ignorance.
他看起来像一具木乃伊。
Tā kànqǐlai xiàng yī jù mùnǎiyī.
He looked like a mummy.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 乃 (nǎi) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 乃 have?
What is the radical of 乃?
What are the components of 乃?
What are common words containing 乃?
What characters sound the same as 乃 (nǎi)?
Is 乃 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 乃 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.