矛 (máo): spear, lance, pike
矛 (máo) is a Chinese character meaning “spear.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 矛 (spear). It ranks #1432 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 矛 a spear pointed up and to the right. Its radical form 矛 (spear) appears in many related characters.
Definitions
- spear
- lance
- pike
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA spear pointed up and to the right
Stroke Order
Practice writing 矛 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 矛
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 矛头 | máo tóu | spearhead |
| 长矛 | cháng máo | pike |
| 自相矛盾 | zì xiāng máo dùn | to contradict oneself |
| 矛头指向 | máo tóu zhǐ xiàng | to target sb or sth (for attack, criticism etc) |
| 人民内部矛盾 | rén mín nèi bù máo dùn | internal contradiction among the people (pretext for a purge) |
| 以子之矛，攻子之盾 | yǐ zǐ zhī máo , gōng zǐ zhī dùn | lit. use sb's spear to attack his shield (idiom, derived from Han Feizi 韓非子|韩非子) |
| 内部矛盾 | nèi bù máo dùn | internal contradiction |
| 敌我矛盾 | dí wǒ máo dùn | contradictions between ourselves and the enemy |
| 丈八蛇矛 | zhàng bā shé máo | ancient spear-like weapon 18 Chinese feet 尺[chi3] in length, with a wavy spearhead like a snake's body |
| 陆港矛盾 | lù gǎng máo dùn | tensions between mainland China and Hong Kong (since 1997) |
| 闹矛盾 | nào máo dùn | to be at loggerheads |
| 矛纹草鹛 | máo wén cǎo méi | (bird species of China) Chinese babax (Pterorhinus lanceolatus) |
| 蛇矛 | shé máo | ancient spear-like weapon with a wavy spearhead like a snake's body |
| 矛隼 | máo sǔn | (bird species of China) gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) |
| 矛斑蝗莺 | máo bān huáng yīng | (bird species of China) lanceolated warbler (Locustella lanceolata) |
矛 appears in 17 compound words: 41 as the first character, 18 as the last, and 41 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 矛 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
矛字由5笔画组成，结构很巧妙。
máo zì yóu bǐ huà zǔ chéng , jié gòu hěn qiǎo miào .
The character "矛" consists of five strokes and has a very ingenious structure.
...工不知关掣令警钟失灵;置邦、宏泰消防口供矛盾|Whatsnew
. . . gōng bù zhī guān 掣 lìng jǐng zhōng shī líng ; zhì bāng , hóng tài xiāo fáng kǒu gōng máo dùn W h a t s n e w
川普演说宣告战果!实力吓阻与战略矛盾并存 各家外媒这样解读
chuān pǔ yǎn shuō xuān gào zhàn guǒ ! shí lì hè zǔ yǔ zhàn lüè máo dùn bìng cún gè jiā wài méi zhè yàng jiě dòu
伊朗总统:美方言行“自相矛盾” 加剧伊方不信任
yī lǎng zǒng tǒng : měi fāng yán háng zì xiāng máo dùn jiā jù yī fāng bù xìn rèn
WSJ:美国民主党内部矛盾严重 进步派正酝酿推翻参议院领袖舒默
W S J : měi guó mín zhǔ dǎng nèi bù máo dùn yán chóng jìn bù pài zhèng yùn niàng tuī fān cān yì yuàn lǐng xiù shū mò
WSJ: Serious Internal Strife Within the U.S. Democratic Party; Progressives Are Plotting to Oust Senate Leader Schumer
...大团队发现新物理原理 破解“通风与吸音”矛盾难题
. . . dà tuán duì fā xiàn xīn wù lǐ yuán lǐ pò jiě tōng fēng yǔ xī yīn máo dùn nán tí
... The big team discovered new physical principles to solve the contradiction between "ventilation and sound absorption"
矛尖浸在一种致命的毒药里。
Máo jiān jìn zài yīzhǒng zhìmìng de dúyào lǐ.
The tip of the spear was dipped in a deadly poison.
希望与现实之间的矛盾，因何而起？
Xīwàng yǔ xiànshí zhījiān de máodùn, yīn hé ér qǐ?
From what stems this contradiction between our hopes and our reality?
他和老板有矛盾，这个我们知道就好。
Tā hé lǎobǎn yǒu máodùn, zhège wǒmen zhīdào jiù hǎo.
Between you and me, he's in trouble with the boss.
他们有时候有矛盾冲突
Tāmen yǒushíhou yǒu máodùn chōngtū
Every now and then they clash over their differences.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 矛 (máo) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 矛 have?
What is the radical of 矛?
What are common words containing 矛?
What characters sound the same as 矛 (máo)?
Is 矛 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 矛 with real-time feedback
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