磨 (mó): to grind, to wear
磨 (mó) is a Chinese character meaning “to grind, to wear.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 麻 (phonetic) and 石 (semantic). It ranks #1527 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 磨 stone. Its radical form 石 (stone) appears in many related characters such as 确 (què, certain, true), 碗 (wǎn, bowl), 碰 (pèng, to touch, to bump).
Definitions
- to grind, to wear
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 磨 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 折磨 | zhé mó | to torment |
| 琢磨 | zhuó mó | to carve and polish (jade) |
| 磨蹭 | mó ceng | to rub lightly |
| 消磨 | xiāo mó | to wear down |
| 磨损 | mó sǔn | to suffer wear and tear |
| 磨难 | mó nàn | a torment |
| 磨坊 | mò fáng | mill |
| 磨练 | mó liàn | to temper oneself |
| 打磨 | dǎ mó | to polish |
| 磨牙 | mó yá | to grind one's teeth (during sleep) |
| 磨合 | mó hé | to break in |
| 磨灭 | mó miè | to obliterate |
| 研磨 | yán mó | milling |
| 磨床 | mó chuáng | grinding machine |
| 不可磨灭 | bù kě mó miè | indelible |
磨 appears in 99 compound words: 58 as the first character, 23 as the last, and 19 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 磨 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
lit. to sharpen one's sword (idiom); fig. to prepare to attack; to be getting ready for battle
to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task; to study diligently
lit. to sharpen one's sword (idiom); fig. to prepare to attack; to be getting ready for battle
to grind an iron bar down to a fine needle (idiom); fig. to persevere in a difficult task; to study diligently
Showing 11 of 12 idioms containing 磨.
Example Sentences
这双鞋需要磨合一段时间,新鞋刚开始穿会有些不舒服。
Zhè shuāng xié xūyào móhé yí duàn shíjiān, xīn xié gāng kāishǐ chuān huì yǒuxiē bù shūfu.
These shoes need a break-in period; new shoes can be somewhat uncomfortable at first.
养猫必看!4招轻松解决猫咪磨爪坏习惯 让你的沙发不再伤痕累累
yǎng māo bì kàn ! 4 zhāo qīng sōng jiě jué māo 咪 mó zhǎo huài xí guàn ràng nǐ de shā fā bù zài shāng hén lěi lěi
A must-see for raising cats! 4 ways to easily solve the bad habit of grinding cats so that your sofa is no longer scarred
20年磨一剑 国家档案馆爆红成北部地标景点
2 0 nián mó yī jiàn guó jiā dàng àn guǎn bào hóng chéng běi bù dì biāo jǐng diǎn
In 20 years, the National Archives has become a landmark attraction in the north
港鐵荃灣綫新信號系統3.15啟用 料「磨合期」會現車門未對準幕門等小問題
gǎng 鐵 荃 灣 綫 xīn xìn 號 xì 統 . 啟 yòng liào mó gě qī 會 現 車 門 wèi 對 準 mù 門 děng xiǎo 問 題
MTR Tsuen Wan Line's New Signaling System to Launch on March 15; Minor Issues Like Misaligned Train Doors Expected During "Break-in Period"
...鐵荃灣綫3.15起啟用新信號系統 料有「磨合期」或影響服務
. . . 鐵 荃 灣 綫 . qǐ 啟 yòng xīn xìn 號 xì 統 liào yǒu mó gě qī huò yǐng 響 fú 務
The Tseung Kwan O Line will implement a new signaling system starting March 15. An adjustment period is expected, which may affect service.
...陳麗君背景起底 茶農出身家境清貧越劇出道磨練10年
. . . 陳 麗 jūn bèi jǐng qǐ de chá 農 chū shēn jiā jìng qīng 貧 yuè 劇 chū dào mó 練 nián
... Chen Lijun's background is doxxing, tea farmer was born in a poor family, and has been honing for 10 years since her debut in Yue opera
我在街上散步,消磨时间。
Wǒ zài jiēshang sànbù, xiāomóshíjiān.
I strolled along the streets to kill time.
我父亲以前是磨坊主。
Wǒ fùqīn yǐqián shì mòfángzhǔ.
My dad used to be a miller.
再折磨他也没用,他不会招供的。
Zài zhémó tā yě méiyòng, tā bù huì zhāogòng de.
There's no point torturing him anymore, he won't confess.
要不是他这么磨磨蹭蹭,现在早做完了。
Yàobushì tā zhème mómócèngcèng, xiànzài zǎo zuòwán le.
If he hadn't wasted time, he'd be finished by now.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 磨 (mó) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 磨 and 嘛?
How many strokes does 磨 have?
What is the radical of 磨?
What are the components of 磨?
What are common words containing 磨?
What characters sound the same as 磨 (mó)?
Is 磨 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 磨 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.