Meaning
to be; thus; so; therefore; then; only
Chinese: 是、就是;于是、才。文言用法。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “nai” becomes a different word in each tone. 乃 is the 3rd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 乃至nǎi zhìand even; to go so far as to
- 乃是nǎi shìequivalent to either 是 or 就是
- 乃尔nǎi ěrthus; like this
- 安乃近ān nǎi jìnanalgin (loanword)
- 木乃伊mù nǎi yī(loanword) mummy (preserved corpse)
Example Sentence
失败乃成功之母。Shī bài nǎi chéng gōng zhī mǔ.Failure is the mother of success.
失败Shī bàito be defeated乃nǎito be成功chéng gōngto succeed之zhī(literary: 's)母mǔmother。