TSUMUGU · C1 (est.) · 字
乃
ㄋㄞˇ · nǎi
conj/pron — then, thereupon; thus; (archaic) you, your
字源 FORM — what the parts do
乃形a curl of breath caught coming out, drawn as one bent stroke
A single bent stroke for breath that comes out checked and slow, hard to push past — the old graph's own picture. Lent away to grammar: the "and then, thereupon" that turns a sentence (乃至、乃是), and in old texts the "you, your" of 乃父.
意 · Meanings
(本義)於是、就— then, thereupon常用
→乃是、乃至— namely; even to the point of
⇒乃父、乃兄— your (father / brother) — archaic
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension