Baby Ledger AIThe same dairy ingredient is 牛奶 on a mainland Chinese label, 우유 on a Korean one, and 乳 tucked inside a Japanese ingredient list - and the derivatives (whey, casein, butter, milk powder) each have their own words on top of that. This page collects the milk and dairy terms actually printed on Chinese, Korean, and Japanese packaging in one table, so you can match shapes at the shelf.
It is a single-allergen companion to our three label guides: the foreign food labels hub, the Japanese labels guide, and the Chinese and Korean labels guide.
The words for milk, language by language
| Language | Core word (native script) | Read as | Derivatives and packaging aliases |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese (simplified / traditional) | 牛奶 / 奶 / 乳 | niúnǎi / nǎi / rǔ | 奶粉 (milk powder), 奶油 (cream; on Taiwan labels, butter), 黄油 / trad. 黃油 (butter), 乳清 (whey), 乳清蛋白 (whey protein), 酪蛋白 (casein), 奶酪 / 芝士 / 起司 (cheese), 炼乳 / trad. 煉乳 (condensed milk), 乳糖 (lactose) |
| Korean | 우유 | uyu | 분유 (milk powder), 탈지분유 (skim milk powder), 전지분유 (whole milk powder), 유청 (whey), 카제인 (casein), 버터 (butter), 치즈 (cheese), 크림 (cream), 연유 (condensed milk), 유당 (lactose) |
| Japanese | 乳 / 牛乳 / ミルク | nyū / gyūnyū / miruku | 乳成分 (milk components), 脱脂粉乳 (skim milk powder), 全粉乳 (whole milk powder), ホエイ / 乳清 (whey), カゼイン (casein), バター (butter), チーズ (cheese), 生クリーム (fresh cream), 練乳 (condensed milk), 乳糖 (lactose) |
A few notes that matter at the shelf:
- The "milk" character does not always mean dairy. 豆奶 (mainland labels), 豆乳 (Japanese and Taiwan labels), and 두유 (Korean labels) all mean soy milk, and 椰奶 is coconut milk - plant-based drinks that borrow the milk character the same way English borrows the word "milk."
- On Japanese labels the standard allergen phrasing is 乳成分を含む ("contains milk components"), often printed in parentheses right after an ingredient name.
- Not every 乳 on a Japanese label is milk. 乳化剤 (emulsifier), 乳酸菌 (lactic acid bacteria), and 乳酸カルシウム (calcium lactate) contain the character 乳 but are the names of an additive, of bacteria cultures, and of a mineral salt, not words for milk.
- Milk hides in processed forms. Watch 奶粉 (milk powder), 奶油 (cream), and 乳清 (whey) on Chinese labels; 탈지분유 (skim milk powder), 유청 (whey), and the loanwords 버터 (butter) and 치즈 (cheese) on Korean ones.
- Milk hides in loanwords. Beyond 乳 and 牛乳, watch for バター (butter), チーズ (cheese), and 生クリーム (fresh cream).
Where to look on the package
First, find the ingredient list. On mainland Chinese labels the header is 配料 or 配料表 (pèiliào / pèiliàobiǎo). Products from Taiwan or Hong Kong usually print traditional characters and often head the list with 成分 or 成份 (chéngfèn) instead. On Korean labels the header is 원재료명 (wonjaeryomyeong, "raw material names"), with the allergen box nearby.
Japanese packaged foods usually carry the allergen information in one of two places, and often both:
- Inside the ingredient list (原材料名, "genzairyō-mei"). Allergens appear as part of the ingredients, sometimes with the allergen name in parentheses right after an ingredient, for example "マヨネーズ（卵を含む）" meaning "mayonnaise (contains egg)."
- In a separate allergen summary line, often introduced by a phrase like "アレルギー物質" (allergy substances) or "特定原材料" (specified raw materials). This is the closest thing to the US "Contains:" line.
Look for the heading 原材料名 to find the ingredient list, and scan both the list itself and any nearby summary line.
Is milk a mandatory callout in each market?
- Japan: milk is on the mandatory allergen list, so a package must declare it when it is an ingredient.
- Korea: milk (우유) is a designated allergen and is declared in the boxed 함유 ("contains") callout near the ingredient list.
- Mainland China: allergen labeling is voluntary under the current standard (GB 7718-2011); the revised standard GB 7718-2025 makes milk one of the mandatory categories when it takes effect on March 16, 2027.
Frequently asked questions
How do I say milk on Chinese, Korean, and Japanese labels?
On Chinese labels look for 牛奶 (niúnǎi), 奶 (nǎi), or 乳 (rǔ). On Korean labels the word is 우유 (uyu). On Japanese labels milk appears as 乳 (nyū), 牛乳 (gyūnyū), or the loanword ミルク (miruku), and the standard allergen phrasing is 乳成分を含む, "contains milk components."
What are whey and casein called on these labels?
Whey is 乳清 (rǔqīng) on Chinese labels, 유청 (yucheong) on Korean labels, and ホエイ (hoei) or 乳清 (nyūsei) on Japanese labels. Casein is 酪蛋白 (làodànbái) in Chinese, 카제인 (kajein) in Korean, and カゼイン (kazein) in Japanese.
Does 豆乳 or 두유 mean dairy milk?
No. 豆乳 (Japanese and Taiwan labels), 豆奶 (mainland Chinese labels), and 두유 (Korean labels) all mean soy milk. The 乳, 奶, and 유 elements are the word "milk" applied to a plant-based drink, the same way English says "soy milk" - the name itself is a soy term, not a dairy term.