What does 吗 mean in Chinese?

吗 (ma) means "[question particle]" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 1.

How do you write 吗?

Use the interactive stroke-order tool to see how 吗 is written.

What is the radical of 吗?

Radical information for 吗 is being updated.

How many strokes does 吗 have?

Stroke count information for 吗 is being updated.

What HSK level is 吗?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 吗 is a character to recognise at HSK 1 and to write by hand at HSK 2 (the handwriting list HSK 1 and 2 share).

吗 (ma): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

吗

[question particle]

HSK 1 character

Quick Answer

吗 (ma) means "[question particle]" with HSK 1 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 吗 →Animated stroke-order for 吗 →

Pronunciation

Meaning

Primary: [question particle]

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

吗 has no oracle bone or ancient form. It is a modern phono-semantic compound created to write the sentence-final question particle in colloquial Mandarin. The semantic component 口 (mouth) marks it as a speech particle, and the phonetic component 马 (mǎ, horse) gives the sound.

Form evolution

Because 吗 is a late vernacular coinage, its 'evolution' is essentially the evolution of its two parts. 口 has a clear pictographic origin as an open mouth, stable from oracle bone onward. 马 evolved from a detailed pictograph of a horse through progressive simplification; the Simplified form 马 is a modern reduction of Traditional 馬. The combined 吗 appears only in the modern period.

How the meaning evolved

吗 has never carried a lexical meaning of its own. Its entire function is grammatical: appended to a statement, it turns the sentence into a yes-no question (你好吗? How are you?). This grammaticalised particle use emerged with the rise of vernacular (白话) writing and is now one of the most frequent characters in spoken Mandarin.

Cultural note

Learners often confuse 吗 with 嘛 (ma, a softening/obviousness particle) and 么 (in 什么, what). All three contain mouth-related elements and function as particles, but only 吗 forms yes-no questions. The choice of 马 as the phonetic is purely sonic; there is no horse-related meaning hiding in the particle.

Basic info

Pinyin	ma
Meanings	[question particle]
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 1, write by hand at HSK 1-2
Frequency	#1419 most common

Example sentences

你好吗？
Nǐ hǎo ma?
How are you?
From 吗 (HSK 1)

Words containing 吗

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
吗	ma	[question particle]	HSK 1

On the new HSK 1 exam

Studying for HSK 1? Keep 吗 with the rest of your level.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.