马

馬

mǎ

② + 一

HSK 2.0Level 3

HSK 3.0Level 3

Definitions

mǎ (noun) horse

mǎ (noun) chess knight (Chinese or Western chess)

Etymology

Simplified form of 馬. Pictograph of a horse.

About

The traditional 馬 is a pictograph of a horse: the upper horizontal strokes represent the mane, and the four dots at the bottom the legs. The simplified 马 reduces the mane to a single line and the legs to a horizontal stroke. It means "horse" and appears in compounds for equestrian activities, cavalry, and transport. As a semantic radical, it appears in characters for horses, riding, driving, or specific equine species.

Etymology Hide

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle etymology image

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Mid Western Zhou (~900 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Early Spring and Autumn (~700 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Spring and Autumn (771-476 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Late Warring States (~250 BC)

Bronze etymology image

Bronze Warring States (475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal etymology image

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical etymology image

Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

妈妈骑马。

Māma qí mǎ.

Mom is riding a horse.

那匹马跑得很快。

Nà pǐ mǎ pǎo de hěn kuài.

That horse runs very fast.

哥哥买了一匹小马。

Gēge mǎi le yì pǐ xiǎo mǎ.

Older brother bought a small horse.

码头停着很多轮船。

Mǎtóu tíng zhe hěnduō lúnchuán.

There are many ships docked at the pier.

我马上就去帮助你。

Wǒ mǎshàng jiù qù bāngzhù nǐ.

I will go and help you immediately.

马拉松比赛需要耐力。

Mǎlāsōng bǐsài xūyào nàilì.

A marathon race requires endurance.

马克思的理论很深刻。

Mǎkèsī de lǐlùn hěn shēnkè.

Marx's theories are very profound.

马来西亚的气候很炎热。

Mǎláixīyà de qìhòu hěn yánrè.

The climate in Malaysia is very hot.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: ②

Component: 一

Example Words