妈

媽
mā
女 + 马

Definitions

mā (noun) mom; mother

Etymology

Simplified form of 媽. Phonosemantic compound. 女 represents the meaning and 马 represents the sound.

Semantic: 女 Phonetic: 马

About

妈 (mā) is the simplified form of 媽, a phono-semantic compound. The left-side radical 女 (nǚ) means 'woman' or 'female', establishing the character's general meaning of a female relation. On the right, 马 (mǎ, 'horse') acts purely as a phonetic component, supplying the sound without contributing to the sense. The character denotes a mother or maternal figure, serving as the common, affectionate term for one's female parent in everyday spoken Chinese.

Example Sentences Hide

妈妈在做饭。

Māmā zài zuò fàn.

Mom is cooking.

妈妈今天很高兴。

Māmā jīntiān hěn gāoxìng.

Mom is very happy today.

我妈妈是老师。

Wǒ māmā shì lǎoshī.

My mother is a teacher.

妈妈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.

妈妈在超市里买东西。

Māmā zài chāoshì lǐ mǎi dōngxi.

Mom is shopping at the supermarket.

妈妈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.

我的妈妈非常善良和勤劳。

Wǒ de māmā fēicháng shànliáng hé qínláo.

My mother is very kind and hardworking.

如果妈妈下班早，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.

Related Characters

Component: 女

要 如 好 她 女 安 始 委 威 姐 娘 妇 婚 姑

Component: 马

吗 验 玛 驻 码 骑 骂 骗 驱 驶 驾 腾 冯 驳

Example Words

妈妈 老妈 大妈 姨妈 妈咪 干妈 事儿妈 大姨妈 契妈 奶妈 姆妈 姑妈 姨妈巾 婆婆妈妈 妈妈桑 妈宝 妈拉个巴子 妈的 妈祖 宝妈 后妈 爸妈 老大妈 老妈子