妈

妈 mā

“mother”

Radical: 女 Strokes: 6 Level: HSK 1

How 妈 is built — side by side

女

Woman · nǚ

A woman kneeling with folded hands (old script). Family words like 妈姐妹她 use it.

马

Horse · mǎ

A galloping horse with flowing mane. 妈 mom = woman + horse (sound).

Woman (女) + horse (马) = mom (妈). 马 gives the sound "ma"; the woman radical gives the meaning.

💡 This is a phonetic compound: 马 (mǎ) sounds like 妈 (mā).

吗奶她好如妹妻始姐

Practice 妈 in the free app — animated stroke order, tone training with your microphone, and spaced-repetition flashcards.