抹 (mā): to wipe, to smear, to erase
抹 (mā) is a Chinese character meaning “to wipe.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (semantic) and 末 (phonetic). It ranks #2051 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 抹 hand. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to wipe
- to smear
- to erase
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 抹 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 拐弯抹角 | guǎi wān mò jiǎo | lit. going round the curves and skirting the corners (idiom) |
| 抹黑 | mǒ hēi | to discredit |
| 抹杀 | mǒ shā | to erase |
| 抹布 | mā bù | cleaning rag |
| 涂抹 | tú mǒ | to paint |
| 浓妆艳抹 | nóng zhuāng yàn mǒ | to apply makeup conspicuously (idiom) |
| 抹香鲸 | mǒ xiāng jīng | sperm whale |
| 抹脖子 | mǒ bó zi | to slit one's own throat |
| 涂脂抹粉 | tú zhī mǒ fěn | (idiom) to put on makeup |
| 抹煞 | mǒ shā | variant of 抹殺|抹杀[mo3 sha1] |
| 抹灰 | mǒ huī | to plaster |
| 抹不下脸 | mǒ bù xià liǎn | to be unable to keep a straight face (idiom) |
| 往脸上抹黑 | wǎng liǎn shàng mǒ hēi | to bring shame to |
| 一笔抹杀 | yī bǐ mǒ shā | to blot out at one stroke |
| 抹一鼻子灰 | mǒ yī bí zi huī | lit. to rub one's nose with dust |
抹 appears in 37 compound words: 57 as the first character, 14 as the last, and 30 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 抹 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
to twist and turn; to turn a corner here and there; to speak in a roundabout way; to beat around the bush
to twist and turn; to turn a corner here and there; to speak in a roundabout way; to beat around the bush
Showing 6 of 7 idioms containing 抹.
Example Sentences
他抹了一个电话，约朋友晚上一起吃饭。
tā mā le yī gě diàn huà , yāo péng yǒu wǎn shǎng yī qǐ chī fàn .
He made a phone call to arrange dinner with a friend that evening.
轰宾宾哥抹黑!“直播天王”林扬俊搜证要告了 酸他应...
hōng bīn bīn gē mā hēi ! zhí bō tiān wáng lín yáng jùn sōu zhèng yāo gào le suān tā yīng . . .
Bombard Bingo smear!" The king of live broadcasting, "Lin Yangjun is going to sue for evidence sour, he should be...
...开展核试验 中外交部批美“捕风捉影、栽赃抹黑”
. . . kāi zhǎn hé shì yàn zhōng wài jiāo bù pī měi bǔ fēng zhuō yǐng , zāi zāng mā hēi
... Carrying out nuclear tests, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticizes the United States for "chasing the wind and shadows, planting corruption and smearing"
...起3波锋面接力 粉专:本周春雨爆发“雨落抹停”
. . . qǐ 3 bō fēng miàn jiē lì fěn zhuān : běn zhōu chūn yǔ bào fā yǔ luò mā tíng
... 3 waves of frontal relay fan page: This week's spring rain broke out "rain falls and stops"
...子强遭控假公益“画作捐款呒影” 经纪人斥抹黑
. . . zǐ qiáng zāo kòng jiǎ gōng yì huà zuò juān kuǎn 呒 yǐng jīng jì rén chì mā hēi
... Ziqiang was accused of fake public welfare "painting donations" and the agent reprimanded and smeared
上海开唱遭取消抹黑 滨崎步晒维尼帽反击
shàng hǎi kāi chàng zāo qǔ xiāo mā hēi bīn qí bù shài wéi ní mào fǎn jī
Shanghai's singing was canceled and smeared, and Hamasaki hit back with a vinnie hat
我把起酥油涂抹在鹿肉上。
Wǒ bǎ qǐ sūyóu túmǒ zài lùròu shàng.
I daub the venison with shortening.
他希望抹去不好的记忆。
Tā xīwàng mǒqù bù hǎo de jìyì.
He wishes to erase bad memories.
将它们放在烤盘上并且涂抹蛋白。
Jiāng tāmen fàng zài kǎopán shàng bìngqiě túmǒ dànbái.
Put them on the baking pan and smear them with egg whites.
他用手帕把手抹干净。
Tāyòng shǒupà bǎshǒu mā gānjìng.
He wiped his hands on a handkerchief.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 抹 (mā) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 抹 and 袜?
How many strokes does 抹 have?
What is the radical of 抹?
What are the components of 抹?
What are common words containing 抹?
What characters sound the same as 抹 (mā)?
Is 抹 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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