# Asian languages: Water or Food ("nah-nah")



## thewilliamsfamily

I apologize for my ignorance - this is my first post.  I have tried searching the web and this forum unsuccessfully.

My 10 month old daughter goes to a childcare center with an Asian boy (I am unsure which country he is from).  Whenever he wants to eat or drink he says something that sounds phonetically like "nah-nah".  My daughter has picked up on this and now she too says "nah-nah" whenever she wants to eat or drink.

I was hoping someone could help me understand what language this is and what the actual translation into English is.  This was my daughter's first word and I wondered if it was just jibberish or if it actually had meaning in an Asian language.

Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.


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## erick

That's cute.  Sounds like gibberish, but you can rule out Japanese.  We don't have that expression.


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## MingRaymond

Hi,
If the pronunciation is 'Nai Nai', it is Cantonese. 'Nai Nai' means milk.

Raymond


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## elroy

In Arabic (at least in the Palestinian dialect), little kids sometimes say "nan-nah" to mean "food."  It's colloquial.

But I don't think most people would classify Arabic as an Asian language.


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## thewilliamsfamily

Thank you all for your responses.  I am quite sure he is trying to say "Nai Nai".  It is amazing how quickly they all pick things up from one another.

Thanks again!


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