乳制品
rǔ zhì pǐn · HSK 6
dairy product
🥛🧀 rǔ = milk, zhì = made/processed, pǐn = products — milk-made goods
Break it down: 乳 (rǔ) means milk or breast milk, 制 (zhì) means to make or manufacture, 品 (pǐn) means goods or products. Together: milk-manufactured products, i.e. dairy.
制 — knife 刂 + 未 (tree branches)
Originally depicted a knife 刂 cutting branches from a tree, showing the act of trimming or shaping wood. From this concrete sense of cutting to size came the meanings 'to make,' 'to manufacture,' and by extension 'to control' or 'regulate' — shaping things to a desired form.
品 — three 口 (mouth) stacked
品 is an ideogram showing three 口 (mouths or openings) piled together. The repetition of 口 suggests many people, items, or voices, which gave rise to meanings like 'kinds,' 'goods,' 'rank,' and 'to taste/judge.' The triple stacking is a common Chinese device for indicating plurality or variety.