么

麼/麽

má, ma, me, mó

丿 + 厶

Definitions

me (particle) suffix used in question words and expressions of degree

ma (particle) interrogative final particle

má (particle) exclamatory final particle

mó (adjective) tiny; insignificant

Etymology

Variant form of 幺, which is a pictograph of a twisted thread.

About

么 is a variant form of 幺, a pictograph of a twisted thread, and originally meant "small" or "tiny" (still occasionally read as yāo with this meaning). It was also adopted as the simplified form of 麼, which paired the hemp radical 麻 (providing sound and meaning) with 幺. In modern Chinese, 么 primarily functions as a grammatical suffix, forming interrogative pronouns like 什么 (shénme, "what") and demonstrative pronouns such as 这么 (zhème, "this way").

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

你叫什么名字？

Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?

What is your name?

你怎么去学校？

Nǐ zěnme qù xuéxiào?

How do you go to school?

那么我们就走吧。

Nàme wǒmen jiù zǒu ba.

Then let's go.

你想吃什么水果？

Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme shuǐguǒ?

What fruit do you want to eat?

我怎么知道这件事？

Wǒ zěnme zhīdào zhè jiàn shì?

How do I know this matter?

天空那么蓝那么美。

Tiānkōng nàme lán nàme měi.

The sky is so blue and so beautiful.

我没有什么钱。

Wǒ méiyǒu shénme qián.

I don't have much money.

你怎么能这样说话？

Nǐ zěnme néng zhèyàng shuōhuà?

How can you talk like this?

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 丿

Component: 厶

么