Definitions
Etymology
Possibly depicts a woman standing sideways with her breasts protruding. Based on the original meaning "breast", now written as 奶. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
About
乃 possibly originated as a depiction of a woman standing sideways with protruding breasts, and its original meaning "breast" is now written 奶. Through phonetic loan, the character shed this concrete sense and came to be used exclusively for grammatical functions. In classical Chinese, it acts as a second-person pronoun ("you" or "your"), as a conjunction or adverb marking a sequential relationship ("then", "hence"), and as an emphatic copula ("is indeed", "is precisely").
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
这乃是事实。
他乃是我们班长。
我乃公司经理。
此乃最佳选择。
他失败乃因准备不足。
这个问题乃至老师都无法解答。
他之所以成功，乃是因为不断努力。
此次会议之重要性，乃在于凝聚共识。
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