玛 meaning and stroke order
Agate, cornelian
How to write 玛, stroke by stroke
7 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 玛
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- used in 瑪瑙|玛瑙[ma3 nao3]
How 玛 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Jade.
王 gives the meaning and 马 hints at the sound.
Radical: 王 (king), shared by 104 characters on this site.
How to remember 玛
The left side 王 here stands for jade, and the right side 马 (mǎ, horse) gives the sound. Picture a horse carved from a polished jade stone, and you have 玛 (mǎ), the agate character.
玛 rarely appears alone. It shows up in 玛瑙 (mǎnǎo, agate) and very often in foreign names and loanwords, because it is a handy way to write the sound "ma". Example: 她叫玛丽。(Tā jiào Mǎlì.) Her name is Mary.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 玛 with 码 (mǎ, code or number) and 吗 (ma, question particle), which share the same 马 sound part. Remember that 玛 has the jade side 王, used for gems and names, while 码 has 石 (stone) and 吗 has 口 (mouth).
Common words with 玛
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 玛格丽特 | Mǎgélìtè | margarita (cocktail) | |
| 尼玛 | Nímǎ | (Internet slang) alternative for 你媽|你妈[ni3 ma1]; (transcription from Tibetan) the sun | |
| 玛德琳 | Mǎdélín | madeleine (French cake) | |
| 伽玛 | gāmǎ | variant of 伽馬|伽马[ga1 ma3] | |
| 玛卡 | mǎkǎ | maca (Lepidium meyenii) |
玛 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 玛
How many strokes are in 玛?
玛 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 玛 mean?
玛 (mǎ) means agate, cornelian. A common word with it is 玛格丽特 (Mǎgélìtè), meaning "margarita (cocktail)".
How do you pronounce 玛?
玛 is pronounced mǎ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 玛?
The radical of 玛 is 王, which carries the idea of "king". Dictionaries list 玛 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 玛?
The traditional form of 玛 is 瑪. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 玛 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why is 玛 used so often in foreign names?
It is pronounced mǎ and has a pretty, gem-related meaning, so it works well for sounds like "ma" in names. You see it in 玛丽 (Mǎlì, Mary), 玛格丽特 (Mǎgélìtè, Margaret or margarita), and 玛德琳 (Mǎdélín, madeleine).
Is 尼玛 (Nímǎ) rude?
Online it is slang that stands in for 你妈 (nǐ mā), often in a swearing sense, so avoid it in polite conversation. In Tibetan transcription, though, 尼玛 simply means the sun and is a common personal name.