# 乃 in the Bible: 131 Occurrences, Most of Them Names

> 乃 occurs 131 times in the Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified) as the emphatic classical copula — and as a syllable of 乃缦, Naaman, which is why the site publishes no construction count for it.

**Pattern:** subject + 乃 + noun phrase
**HSK level:** 7 — the highest HSK level of the point's own function words, as data/dict.json grades them; a word the HSK lists do not grade sends the point to 'beyond'
**Rule used to find it:** 乃 with another word after it in the same clause.
**Confidence:** unmeasured — 30 of 116 matches checked, 60% correct, by Claude Opus 5, reading each sampled clause in context; not a native speaker

乃 asserts identity the way 是 does, with weight behind it: 乃为圣日, it is a holy day; 乃像糠秕被风吹散, they are like the chaff which the wind drives away. It is the mark of a raised register, and where it appears the sentence is usually making a pronouncement rather than a statement.

The Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified) uses 乃 131 times. How many of those are this construction is exactly what could not be established.

The site does not publish a count for this construction. Its rule — 乃 with another word after it in the same clause. — was checked against 30 of its matches and 60% of them were right, which is not enough to print a number.

The obstacle is transliteration. 乃 is a common syllable in Hebrew names rendered into Chinese — 乃缦 Naaman, 许米乃 Hymenaeus, 达乃 Tattenai — and the segmenter splits those into syllables, so a rule looking for 乃 followed by a word collects the general of Syria along with the copula. The sample shows how often, and the number is withheld rather than guessed at.

## Examples

- **Matthew 22:30** — 当复活的时候，人也不娶也不嫁，乃像天上的使者一样。
  - dāng fù huó de shí hou ， rén yě bù qǔ yě bú jià ， nǎi xiàng tiān shàng de shǐ zhě yí yàng 。
  - For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like God’s angels in heaven.
  - construction: 乃像
- **John 16:25** — 「这些事，我是用比喻对你们说的；时候将到，我不再用比喻对你们说，乃要将父明明地告诉你们。
  - 「 zhè xiē shì ， wǒ shì yòng bǐ yù duì nǐ men shuō de ； shí hou jiāng dào ， wǒ bú zài yòng bǐ yù duì nǐ men shuō ， nǎi yào jiāng fù míng míng de gào sù nǐ men 。
  - “I have spoken these things to you in figures of speech. But the time is coming when I will no more speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father.
  - construction: 乃要
- **Job 18:21** — 不义之人的住处总是这样； 此乃不认识 神之人的地步。
  - bú yì zhī rén de zhù chù zǒng shì zhè yàng ；  cǐ nǎi bú rèn shi   shén zhī rén de dì bù 。
  - Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous. This is the place of him who doesn’t know God.”
  - construction: 乃不
- **Mark 12:25** — 人从死里复活，也不娶也不嫁，乃像天上的使者一样。
  - rén cóng sǐ lǐ fù huó ， yě bù qǔ yě bú jià ， nǎi xiàng tiān shàng de shǐ zhě yí yàng 。
  - For when they will rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
  - construction: 乃像
- **Psalms 87:3** — 神的城啊， 有荣耀的事乃指着你说的。 （细拉）
  - shén de chéng a ，  yǒu róng yào de shì nǎi zhǐ zhe nǐ shuō de 。 （ xì lā ）
  - Glorious things are spoken about you, city of God. Selah.
  - construction: 乃指
- **2 Corinthians 1:12** — 我们所夸的是自己的良心，见证我们凭着 神的圣洁和诚实；在世为人不靠人的聪明，乃靠 神的恩惠，向你们更是这样。
  - wǒ men suǒ kuā de shì zì jǐ de liáng xīn ， jiàn zhèng wǒ men píng zhe   shén de shèng jié hé chéng shí ； zài shì wèi rén bú kào rén de cōng ming ， nǎi kào   shén de ēn huì ， xiàng nǐ men gèng shì zhè yàng 。
  - For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that in holiness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we behaved ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you.
  - construction: 乃靠

## The words this point is built on

| Word | Reading | HSK | Occurrences |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 乃 | nǎi | 7 | 131 |

The HSK column is the level data/dict.json gives the word, and it is what puts this point at level 7.

## Where it occurs most

| Book | Clauses |
| --- | --- |
| Proverbs | 19 |
| 2 Kings | 12 |
| 1 Corinthians | 6 |
| John | 6 |
| 2 Chronicles | 5 |

Counted from what the rule matched, before the audit — a ranking, not a published total.

## Questions

**Is 乃 just an old-fashioned 是?**

Close, but it carries emphasis that 是 does not: it corrects or insists. Several of its clearest uses here follow a negation — not this, but that.

**How often does it occur in the Chinese Bible?**

Its markers occur 131 times in the Chinese Union Version (和合本, simplified). How many of those are this construction is not something the site can measure honestly, so it does not claim a figure.

**Which book of the Bible uses it most?**

Proverbs, with 19 — followed by 2 Kings (12), 1 Corinthians (6), John (6).

**How do you know the count is right?**

The site does not publish a count for this construction. Its rule — 乃 with another word after it in the same clause. — was checked against 30 of its matches and 60% of them were right, which is not enough to print a number.

Page: https://chinese-bible.com/en/grammar/nai-copula

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