🇬🇧🇨🇳 buttermilk - 酪乳 : English Lesson

Meaning of "buttermilk" ("酪乳"), detailed definition, and a short video lesson below.

Buttermilk is a kind of sour, tangy milk that is left after people churn cream to make butter. When the thick, fatty part of the cream turns into butter, the thin, more watery liquid that remains is called buttermilk. It tastes a little sour but creamy and is often used in pancakes, biscuits, and other baked foods to make them soft and fluffy.

Watch and listen to this English flashcard to understand the word in more detail, with an easy example sentence.

My cousin thought buttermilk was melted ice cream and took the most disappointed sip in human history.

My first biscuit without buttermilk could be used as a hockey puck; with buttermilk, it only broke one tooth.

I told my friend that buttermilk is leftover from making butter, and his brain looked like it needed a loading screen.

I asked what buttermilk is, and Grandpa said, “It’s milk that went on a roller coaster and never recovered.”

Old-fashioned buttermilk is the tangy liquid left after churning butter from cream, and people have used it for centuries to make extra fluffy breads and pancakes.

Grandma churned cream until butter formed; the heavy bowl held butter and pale buttermilk. She poured buttermilk into a jug, handed a warm spoon to the child, and the child licked the thin buttermilk, surprised by its sour, creamy taste. They used buttermilk and saved buttermilk for pancakes; the first bite made both laugh, full and happy.

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

Expanding your English vocabulary is one of the best ways to improve your pronunciation, spelling, and confidence in English. Watch the video above to memorize the word, understand its meaning, and see example sentences in action. Discover related words to grow your vocabulary naturally. Add words to your playlist for stress-free, effective learning—anytime, anywhere! Watch, learn, repeat.