嗎 meaning and stroke order
Final interrogative particle
How to write 嗎, stroke by stroke
13 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 嗎
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (coll.) what?
- (question particle for "yes-no" questions)
- used in 嗎啡|吗啡[ma3 fei1]
How 嗎 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 馬 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 嗎
嗎 is pictophonetic: 口 (mouth) gives the meaning of speech, and 馬 (mǎ, horse) gives the sound. Picture a mouth asking a horse a yes-or-no question: "Horse, ma?"
嗎 (ma) goes at the end of a statement to turn it into a yes-or-no question, and it is said in the neutral tone. Example: 你好嗎？(Nǐ hǎo ma?) How are you? It also appears with other tones in words like 嗎啡 (mǎfēi, morphine) and colloquial 幹嗎 (gànmá, what for).
Common mistake: Learners often add 嗎 to questions that already have a question word, as in 你叫什麼名字嗎？, which is wrong because 什麼 already makes it a question. Also do not confuse 嗎 with 媽 (mā, mom), which uses 女 instead of 口 on the left.
Common words with 嗎
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 幹嗎 | gànmá | variant of 幹嘛|干嘛[gan4 ma2] | HSK 3 |
| 嗎啡 | mǎfēi | morphine (loanword) |
Questions about 嗎
How many strokes are in 嗎?
嗎 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 嗎 mean?
嗎 (ma) means final interrogative particle. A common word with it is 干吗 (gànmá), meaning "variant of 幹嘛|干嘛[gan4 ma2]".
How do you pronounce 嗎?
嗎 is pronounced ma, in the neutral tone (short and light).
What is the radical of 嗎?
The radical of 嗎 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 嗎 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 嗎?
嗎 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 吗, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 嗎 and 呢?
嗎 turns a statement into a yes-or-no question. 呢 is used for follow-up questions like 你呢？(Nǐ ne?, And you?) or with question words, not for simple yes-or-no questions.
How do I answer a question ending in 嗎?
Repeat the verb or adjective, positive or negative, instead of saying a plain yes or no. For 你忙嗎？(Nǐ máng ma?, Are you busy?) you answer 忙 (máng) or 不忙 (bù máng).