吗 · ma · character · Chinesekit
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吗

Character

吗 ma · má · mǎ

HSK 1Character3 readings

(question particle for "yes-no" questions)

Radical
口
Strokes
6
Structure
Left–right
Parts
口 马
Traditional
嗎
Frequency
#39 most common character
Practice writing

Readings and meanings

maMain readingmáRare readingmǎRare reading

ma

ma5Main readingHSK 1
  1. (question particle for "yes-no" questions) CC-CEDICT

Words that use “吗” as ma

吗喽ma lou(slang) monkeyWord约吗yuē maneologism, attested by 2014Word不是吗bù shì maisn't that so?Word不香吗bù xiāng ma(slang) would be betterWord

má

ma2Reading 2Rare reading

This reading is uncommon in everyday Chinese; the main reading is ma.

  1. Word put at the end of a sentence to make a yes/no question.
  2. what (as in 什么, shén me)

Examples

  • 你好吗？

    nǐ hǎo ma

    How are you?

    AI-generated sentence

  • 你会说中文吗？

    nǐ huì shuō zhōng wén ma

    Can you speak Chinese?

    AI-generated sentence

  • 你干吗？

    nǐ gàn má

    What are you doing?

    AI-generated sentence

Words that use “吗” as má

干吗gàn máwhat are you doing? used to ask about someone's activityWordHSK 3

mǎ

ma3Reading 3Rare reading

This reading is uncommon in everyday Chinese; the main reading is ma.

  1. used in 吗啡 (mǎ fēi) CC-CEDICT

Words that use “吗” as mǎ

吗哪mǎ nǎmannaWord吗啉mǎ línmorpholineWord吗啡mǎ fēimorphineWord

Stroke order

All 6 strokes

Speed

Practice writing 吗

Draw “吗” here — the faint guide shows its shape.

See all 8 words with 吗 →

Same radical 口

All characters with 口 →
和hé嗎ma可kě后hòu名míng台tái同tóng员yuán員yuán喜xǐ噹dāng吃chī
字Chinesekit
Dictionary data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA) · Stroke data: Make Me a Hanzi
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