奶粉
nǎi fěn · HSK 6
powdered milk
🍼 nǎi (milk) + fěn (powder) = milk powder, literally milk-powder
奶 means milk or breast, 粉 means powder or flour. Together they form the everyday word for powdered milk or baby formula. The character 粉 also appears in 面粉 (wheat flour), reinforcing its powder meaning.
奶 — 女 (woman) + 乃 (phonetic)
奶 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 女 'woman' gives the meaning, linking the character to mothers and nursing, while the right side 乃 supplies the sound. It originally referred to breasts and breast milk, and later extended to milk in general and to terms for grandmother (奶奶).
粉 — rice 米 + divide 分
A semantic-phonetic compound: 米 (rice/grain) gives the meaning, while 分 (fēn, 'divide') hints at the sound. It originally referred to rice flour or finely ground powder, then extended to any powder and to the pale pinkish color of such powders.