妈妈
mā ma · mom; mother
我妈妈今天不上班。
My mom is not working today.
Chinese character · HSK 1
妈 (mā) — “mother / mom”
The character combines '女' (woman) for meaning and '马' (horse, pronounced mǎ) for sound.
Memory cue
Focus on the nurturing woman (女) for the meaning of mother, while the faint horse (马) simply echoes the sound 'ma'.
Common ways to use 妈
This set shows 妈 in the direct word for “mom” and in conventional terms for a maternal aunt and an older woman.
姨妈
yí mā · maternal aunt; mother's sister
我姨妈住在上海。
My maternal aunt lives in Shanghai.
Usage note: This specifically refers to an aunt on your mother’s side.
大妈
dà mā · auntie; middle-aged or older woman
那位大妈在买菜。
That older woman is buying groceries.
Usage note: This familiar term is often used for a middle-aged or older woman, even when she is not a relative.
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.
Don’t mix up 妈
These characters are close enough in shape to misread at speed. Telling them apart is a matter of spotting the one component that differs.
- 好 (hǎo, good / well) — Both contain 女 — the difference is 马 in 妈 versus 子 in 好.
- 吗 (ma, Question particle (yes / no)) — Both contain 马 — the difference is 女 in 妈 versus 口 in 吗.
- 码 (mǎ, number / code) — Both contain 马 — the difference is 女 in 妈 versus 石 in 码.
Learn 妈 the visual way. InkSeal pairs every HSK 1–6
character with an illustration like this one, Common-use words and sentences,
component breakdowns, etymology, and recall-first review. The first 100
characters are free.
More characters: 寿 (shòu, longevity / long life) · 屏 (píng, screen / folding screen) · 春 (chūn, spring) — or browse the full character library.