Definitions

(noun) mom; mother

Etymology

Simplified form of . Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character "妈" for mother derives from its traditional form "媽", a semantic-phonetic compound combining the female radical "女" with the phonetic component "馬" (horse), which in the simplified version is written as "马". This structure indicates the character's meaning related to the female gender while using the horse component solely for its sound, as the historical pronunciation of "mother" was similar to that of "horse". Initially a colloquial term, "妈" gradually supplanted other classical terms in common usage to become the primary designation for mother in modern Chinese.

Example Sentences Hide

在做饭。

Māmā zài zuò fàn.

Mom is cooking.

今天很高兴。

Māmā jīntiān hěn gāoxìng.

Mom is very happy today.

是老师。

Wǒ māmā shì lǎoshī.

My mother is a teacher.

给我买了一件新衣服。

Māmā gěi wǒ mǎi le yī jiàn xīn yīfu.

Mom bought me a new piece of clothing.

在超市里买东西。

Māmā zài chāoshì lǐ mǎi dōngxi.

Mom is shopping at the supermarket.

说周末要带我去公园。

Māmā shuō zhōumò yào dài wǒ qù gōngyuán.

Mom said she would take me to the park this weekend.

我的非常善良和勤劳。

Wǒ de māmā fēicháng shànliáng hé qínláo.

My mother is very kind and hardworking.

如果下班早,她就给我们做晚饭。

Rúguǒ māmā xiàbān zǎo, tā jiù gěi wǒmen zuò wǎnfàn.

If Mom gets off work early, she cooks dinner for us.