乃

廼
nǎi
#1,163 most
frequent character
so, therefore
conjunction
adverb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

乃 is a picture of a breast, so it first meant 'breast.' Later it was borrowed for its sound to mean 'to be', then grew to 'thus, so; therefore' and 'thereupon; only.'

Drawn as: breast

乃 as a component in other characters

meaning1 character
奶
sound7 characters
仍奶扔氖艿鼐尕
picture1 character
隽
empty2 characters
秀孕

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Example Sentences

我今天很忙，乃不能参加聚会。
wǒ jīntiān hěn máng ， nǎi bùnéng cānjiā jùhuì 。
I am very busy today, therefore I cannot attend the party.
他很努力，乃有了很大的进步。
tā hěn nǔlì ， nǎi yǒule hěndà de jìnbù 。
He worked hard, so he made great progress.
天气不好，乃决定在家休息。
tiānqì bùhǎo ， nǎi juédìng zàijiā xiūxī 。
The weather is bad, therefore I decided to rest at home.

Same Characters, Different Readings

乃nǎi
so, therefore

Words with similar meanings

所以suǒyǐ
so
A more common and widely used term to indicate reason or cause.
因此yīncǐ
therefore
A formal term that also denotes a conclusion drawn from a preceding statement.

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