奶酪
nǎi​lào

cheese

奶 nǎi, nai milk

Phonosemantic compound. 女 represents the meaning and 乃 represents the sound.

Components

女
女 Meaning component
nǚ, nü woman
乃
乃 SoundIconic component
nǎi then

Depicts a woman standing sideways with her breasts protruding.

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangrneːlʔ

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang

酪 lào, luò, lù cream

Phonosemantic compound. 酉 represents the meaning and 各 represents the sound.

Components

酉
酉 Meaning component
yǒu wine
各
各 Sound component
gè each

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangɡ·raːɡ

說文解字

乳𤖅也。从酉各聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)