奶

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 /形声, OC *rneːlʔ): semantic 女 + phonetic 乃 (OC *nɯːʔ).

Unknown.

Similar words in the area include Proto-Hmong-Mien *niaʔ²ᴰ (“mother”), Tibetan ཨ་ནེ (a ne), ནེ་ནེ (ne ne, “paternal aunt”), Khmer ញី (ñii, “female”). It may be comparable with Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-nja-n (“breast; milk; suck”), whence Nuosu ꑍ (nyip, “liquid milk”), ꀉꆂ (ax nie, “breast; milk”).

It is unknown how the Min forms relate to forms in other dialects. See this article for a discussion of the Min Nan etymon. For similar nasalisations in Min, compare 耳 (ěr).

Colloquial words in different Min dialects show considerable variation – most have an n- initial, but finals and tones differ greatly. Some propose that this is substrate influence, passed on from the maternal Baiyue lineages since the intermarriages between southward-migrating Han Chinese and native non-Han women. Other southern dialects also show remnants of this native word: Hakka [Meixian] nɛn⁵, Cantonese [Guangzhou] nin¹ (𢆡). Compare Thai นม (nom, “breast; breastmilk”), Zhuang noemz (“breast; breastmilk”).

The long-recognised Sino-Tibetan etymon in Chinese is 乳 (OC *njoʔ); see there for more.