马 meaning and stroke order
Horse; horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess; knight in Western chess
How to write 马, stroke by stroke
3 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
Meaning of 马
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- horse
- horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess
- knight in Western chess
How 马 is built
Pictographic character. Simplified form of 馬, a horse galloping to the left.
How to remember 马
马 (mǎ) is a pictograph simplified from 馬, a horse galloping to the left. Picture the top as the horse's head and mane, and the long hooked stroke with the flat line at the bottom as its body and legs in motion.
马 means horse and is also a common surname. It appears in many everyday words that no longer refer to horses, such as 马上 (mǎshàng, right away) and 马路 (mǎlù, road). Example: 我马上来。(Wǒ mǎshàng lái.) I'm coming right away.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 马 (mǎ, horse) with 妈 (mā, mom) and 吗 (ma, question particle), which use 马 only as a sound hint. Watch the tone: 马 is third tone, while 妈 is first tone and 吗 is neutral.
Common words with 马
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 马上 | mǎshàng | at once; right away | HSK 1 |
| 马路 | mǎlù | street; road | HSK 1 |
| 马车 | mǎchē | cart; chariot | HSK 6 |
| 马桶 | mǎtǒng | chamber pot; wooden pan used as toilet | HSK 7-9 |
| 马力 | mǎlì | horsepower | HSK 7-9 |
| 马虎 | mǎhu | careless; sloppy | HSK 7-9 |
| 黑马 | hēimǎ | dark horse; fig. unexpected winner | HSK 7-9 |
| 马戏 | mǎxì | circus | HSK 7-9 |
| 骏马 | jùnmǎ | fine horse; steed | HSK 7-9 |
| 马后炮 | mǎhòupào | (Chinese chess) moving the cannon after moving the horse away; (fig.) a useless action or | HSK 7-9 |
| 千军万马 | qiānjūn-wànmǎ | magnificent army with thousands of men and horses (idiom); impressive display of manpower; | HSK 7-9 |
| 马克 | Mǎkè | mark (monetary unit) | |
| 骑马 | qímǎ | to ride a horse | |
| 马戏团 | mǎxìtuán | circus |
马 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 马
Learning 马 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 马
How many strokes are in 马?
马 is written with 3 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 马 mean?
马 (mǎ) means horse; horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess; knight in Western chess. A common word with it is 马上 (mǎshàng), meaning "at once; right away".
How do you pronounce 马?
马 is pronounced mǎ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the traditional form of 马?
The traditional form of 马 is 馬. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 马 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 马 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 马 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
Why does 马虎 (mǎhu) mean careless if it literally says horse and tiger?
马虎 is a fixed word meaning careless or sloppy, and its meaning is not built from horse plus tiger. Note that 虎 is read in the neutral tone here, so say mǎhu, not mǎhǔ.
What is the measure word for 马?
Use 匹 (pǐ) for horses, as in 一匹马 (yì pǐ mǎ), one horse. In casual speech you may also hear 一头马 or 一只马, but 匹 is the standard choice.