HSK 7–9 grammar · adverb
乃
乃 — is, namely (classical)
Pattern
+ +
+
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
乃 is a literary copula and connective: "is indeed / namely", and in some frames "thereupon". It appears in formal writing and set expressions such as 胜败乃兵家常事.
Examples
失败乃成功之母。
Shībài nǎi chénggōng zhī mǔ.
Failure is the mother of success.
此乃当务之急。
Cǐ nǎi dāngwù zhī jí.
This is the most pressing matter.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 乃 is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.