嘛
Meanings · maa3
- (adjective) So so (only in reduplication, "嘛嘛")
Meanings · maa3
- modal particle indicating that sth is obvious
- particle indicating a pause for emphasis
- a final particle to turn a statement into an interrogative question
Meanings · maa5
- modal particle indicating that sth is obvious
- particle indicating a pause for emphasis
- a final particle to turn a statement into an interrogative question
Meanings · maa4
- used in transliteration, such as in 'lama'
About these definitions
Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.
Reading & tones
Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.
Tone difference from Unihan
- 嘛 is read maa3 here; Unihan’s citation reading is maa1. Same syllable, different tone across these source readings. CC-Canto also lists 嘛 maa3 as its own entry.
Computed by zimai: each syllable of the CC-Canto word reading is compared with Unihan 17.0.0 kCantonese for its character. The comparison does not say why a reading differs (a changed tone, 變音, a reading tied to one meaning, or a source variant).
Same syllable, six tones
Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.
Written characters
Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.
Mandarin comparison · separate source entries
CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:
- 嘛 má CC-CEDICT · Mandarinused in 唵嘛呢叭咪吽 ǎn má ní bā mī hōng; (Tw) (coll.) what?
- 嘛 ma CC-CEDICT · Mandarinmodal particle indicating that sth is obvious; particle indicating a pause for emphasis
A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.
CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: ma5. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.
Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 9 senses · 3 Cantonese readings
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
maa3 · maa4 · maa5
Cantonese word readings for 嘛. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character · Etymology 1
- (suggests that the preceding is obvious, sometimes impatient in tone): Of course!
- Signals a pause in a sentence, sometimes used to get the listener's attention.
- Used at the end of an imperative or request to express expectation or dissuasion.
character · Etymology 2
- (dialectal) what
character · Etymology 3
- only used in 喇嘛 (lǎma)
character · Etymology 4
- (Hokkien, Taiwanese Hakka) also
- (Hokkien, Taiwanese Hakka) still; nevertheless
character · Etymology 5
- only used in 唵嘛呢叭咪吽 (ǎn mānī bēimēi hōng)
character · Etymology 6
- only used in 嘛嘛吼
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack