How to Say “With milk” in Chinese
Food and dining · HSK 2
"With milk" in Chinese is 加牛奶 (Jiā niúnǎi). 加 (jiā) literally means 'add' and is the go-to verb for customizing drinks and food; 加糖 (add sugar), 加冰 (add ice), 加奶 (add milk). For coffee, 加奶 is more common in casual speech than 加牛奶 because it's shorter.
Primary translation
加牛奶
Jiā niúnǎi
When to use it
加 (jiā) literally means 'add' and is the go-to verb for customizing drinks and food; 加糖 (add sugar), 加冰 (add ice), 加奶 (add milk). For coffee, 加奶 is more common in casual speech than 加牛奶 because it's shorter. If you want a specific milk, be more specific: 全脂牛奶 (quán zhī, whole milk), 脱脂 (tuō zhī, skim), 燕麦奶 (yànmài nǎi, oat milk; hugely popular in Mainland cities now and usually costs 3-5元 extra). Lactose-intolerance is widespread in China, so oat and soy milk (豆奶) are everywhere. When placing an order, 加奶 is the quick answer to 'how do you want it?'
Example sentences
请加牛奶，不加糖。
Qǐng jiā niúnǎi, bù jiā táng.
Please add milk, no sugar.
可以换成燕麦奶吗？
Kěyǐ huàn chéng yànmài nǎi ma?
Can I switch to oat milk?
咖啡加奶加糖都可以。
Kāfēi jiā nǎi jiā táng dōu kěyǐ.
Coffee with milk and sugar is fine.