Methyl butanoate is the ester . The four-carbon butanoyl group and one-carbon methyl group occupy different sides of the ester linkage.
Hydrolysis yields butanoic acid or butanoate together with methanol, depending on conditions. The carbonyl carbon remains part of the acid-derived fragment.
[ref]
Organic Chemistry by John McMurry. Chapter21, Carboxylic Acid Derivatives: ester identity and hydrolysis
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