Japanese Language Question (flodnak???)

Factual Questions
1

Hey Japanese linguists-

I understand that Katakana is used for foreign words. What I don’t understand is why “milk” is considered a foreign word. When I lived there, it was always spelled in Katakana and pronounced “miiruku.”

So, uh, what did the Japanese call the stuff that seeped out of a breast before an English-speaking person taught them the word “milk”?

2

Cow’s milk is “gyuunyuu.” There are certain circumstances where you’d use the term gyuunyuu and some circumstances where you’d use the term “miruku” but I don’t happen to recall them because I don’t drink milk so I never bothered to learn the difference.