ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

麻 má hemp

hemp; sesame; numb

How to remember 麻: 广 broad + 林 a wood = hemp. The hikers look for cover under a broad roof at the edge of a wood and end up sleeping on sacks of hemp.

  • 1,108. most frequent character
  • HSK 4
  • 11 strokes
  • Radical 麻

Component breakdown

会意 · Meaning + meaning

Two or more parts whose meanings together make the new meaning.

麻 = 广 broad + 林 a wood

  • 广 broad
  • 林 a wood
    • 木 tree
    • 木 tree
The Gushi story

The hikers look for cover under a broad roof at the edge of a wood and end up sleeping on sacks of hemp.

How it came to be

The oldest form shows hemp plants under a shelter.

How it is used

  • Literally hemp/sesame, but the everyday sense is 'numb/tingling' and 'troublesome': 麻烦 (máfan) trouble/bothersome, 麻辣 (málà) numbingly spicy, 手麻了 (shǒu má le) my hand went numb.
  • 芝麻 (zhīma) sesame; 麻将 (májiàng) mahjong.
  • 麻辣 is the signature Sichuan flavor: 麻 is the tongue-numbing part, 辣 the hot-spicy part.

Characters built with 麻

Words with 麻

Example sentences

  • 这件事有点麻烦。 Zhè jiàn shì yǒudiǎn máfan.This is a little troublesome.
  • 出国旅行护照丢了会很麻烦。 Chūguó lǚxíng hùzhào diūle huì hěn máfan.It can be very troublesome if you lose your passport when traveling overseas.