The New Dictionary.
Search dictionary
Chinese/Dictionary entry

有奶便是娘

yǒu nǎi biàn shì niángdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
lit. whoever provides milk is your mother (idiom) / fig. to follow whoever is feeding you / to put one's loyalties where one's interests lie
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-86f02986cacd5817. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

有奶便是娘 有奶便是娘 [you3 nai3 bian4 shi4 niang2] /lit. whoever provides milk is your mother (idiom)/fig. to follow whoever is feeding you/to put one's loyalties where one's interests lie/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

  • 有
    yǒu

    to have / there is / (bound form) having / with / -ful / -ed / -al (as in 有意[yǒu yì] intentional)

  • 奶
    nǎi

    breast / milk / to breastfeed / mother

  • 便
    biàn

    plain / informal / suitable / convenient / opportune / to urinate or defecate / equivalent to 就[jiù]: then / in that case / even if / soon afterwards

    pián

    used in 便宜[pián yi] / used in 便便[pián pián] / used in 便嬛[pián xuān]

  • 是
    shì

    to be (followed by substantives only) / correct / right / true / (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well / (adverb for emphatic assertion)

  • 娘
    niáng

    mother / young lady / (coll.) effeminate

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.