嘛

má, ma
口 + 麻
HSK 2.0Level 6
HSK 3.0Level 6

Definitions

ma (particle) modal particle indicating that something is obvious
ma (particle) particle for emphasis

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 麻 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 麻

About

嘛 is a phono-semantic compound combining the mouth radical 口 (meaning) and the phonetic component 麻 (sound). Created relatively recently, it transcribes colloquial particles in written Chinese rather than carrying the long semantic evolution of classical characters. The character represents the spoken syllable "ma", which either emphasizes that something is obvious or acts as an informal equivalent of 么. The 口 radical marks it clearly as a grammatical speech particle, filling a need in modern written vernacular.

Example Sentences Hide

你告诉我嘛。

Nǐ gàosu wǒ ma.

Tell me, will you?

你帮帮我嘛。

Nǐ bāng bāng wǒ ma.

Help me, please.

这样做好嘛？

Zhèyàng zuò hǎo ma?

Is this okay to do?

你快点来嘛！

Nǐ kuài diǎn lái ma!

Come quickly, will you?

嘛，你别着急。

Ma, nǐ bié zháojí.

Well, don't worry.

你干嘛不去呢？

Nǐ gàn má bù qù ne?

Why don't you go?

这件事嘛，我觉得没问题。

Zhè jiàn shì ma, wǒ juéde méi wèntí.

As for this matter, I think there's no problem.

既然来了嘛，就好好玩吧。

Jìrán lái le ma, jiù hǎohǎo wán ba.

Since you're here, just have fun.

Related Characters

Component: 口

中 和 可 后 如 同 只 知 高 问 向 或 加 合

Component: 麻

摩 魔 磨 靡 糜 麾 縻 麽 麼 麿 穈 蔴 髍 黀

Example Words

干嘛 喇嘛 喇嘛庙 喇嘛教