Chinese character · HSK 1
妈 (mā) — “mother / mom”
The character combines '女' (woman) for meaning and '马' (horse, pronounced mǎ) for sound.
How to remember 妈
Focus on the nurturing woman (女) for the meaning of mother, while the faint horse (马) simply echoes the sound 'ma'.
Inside the character
- 女 (woman) — meaning component. Often marks woman, mother, family, or human-centered meaning.
- 马 (horse) — sound component. Often contributes horse imagery or survives mainly as a sound-bearing component.
Where 妈 comes from
A phono-semantic compound: '女' (woman) indicates the meaning (female relation), while '马' (horse, mǎ) provides the pronunciation.
Words that use 妈
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 妈妈 | mā ma | mama / mommy | HSK 1 |
| 大妈 | dà mā | father's elder brother's wife / aunt (affectionate term for an elderly woman) | HSK 4 |
| 姨妈 | yí mā | maternal aunt (mother's sister) | HSK 4 |
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