蓦

驀

mò

莫 + 马

Definitions

mò leap on or over; suddenly

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 马 represents the meaning and 莫 represents the sound. Simplified form of 驀.

Semantic: 马 Phonetic: 莫

About

蓦 is a phono-semantic compound: the lower component 马 ('horse') provides the meaning, suggesting an equestrian action, while the upper component 莫 supplies the pronunciation. Its unreduced form is 驀, which uses the traditional horse radical 馬. The character originally denoted the sudden physical movement of leaping onto a horse or vaulting over an obstacle. Later, this literal sense faded, and the character now functions almost exclusively as an adverb meaning 'suddenly' or 'abruptly'.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他蓦地站起来。

Tā mò dì zhàn qǐ lái.

He stood up suddenly.

我蓦然想起这件事。

Wǒ mò rán xiǎng qǐ zhè jiàn shì.

I suddenly remembered this matter.

蓦然间，雨停了。

Mò rán jiān, yǔ tíng le.

Suddenly, the rain stopped.

她蓦地开口说话。

Tā mò dì kāi kǒu shuō huà.

She abruptly started speaking.

在路口，他蓦地回头。

Zài lù kǒu, tā mò dì huí tóu.

At the intersection, he suddenly turned back.

蓦然听到铃声，学生们跑回教室。

Mò rán tīng dào líng shēng, xué sheng men pǎo huí jiào shì.

Upon suddenly hearing the bell, the students ran back to the classroom.

当大家都在犹豫时，他蓦地做出了决定。

Dāng dà jiā dōu zài yóu yù shí, tā mò dì zuò chū le jué dìng.

When everyone was hesitating, he suddenly made a decision.

在漫长的等待后，她蓦然意识到时间已晚。

Zài màn cháng de děng dài hòu, tā mò rán yì shí dào shí jiān yǐ wǎn.

After a long wait, she suddenly realized that it was late.

Related Characters

Component: 莫

Component: 马

蓦