feed · nurse

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 哺 conveys feeding or nursing; its on-reading is ほ.
• Basic usage: 哺乳瓶, read ほにゅうびん, means baby bottle; 哺乳類, read ほにゅうるい, means mammals.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A container name and an animal classification
  • Final 瓶 in 哺乳瓶 identifies a container, while final 類 in 哺乳類 indicates an animal classification.
  • クジラは海で暮らしているが哺乳類だ explains that whales are mammals even though they live in the sea. The classification here is not determined by where the animal lives.