麻 is also the simplified spelling of 蔴.

麻

Mandarin · pinyin má#

Meanings · má

  1. generic name for hemp, flax etc
  2. hemp or flax fiber for textile materials
  3. sesame
  4. Classifier: 縷 lǚ
  5. (of materials) rough or coarse
  6. pocked
  7. pitted
  8. to have pins and needles or tingling
  9. to feel numb
Mandarin · pinyin Má#

Meanings · Má

  1. surname Ma
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Characters in this entry

麻
má · hemp, jute, flax; sesame; Kangxi radical 200
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2 · ma2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 18 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

maa4

Cantonese word readings for 麻. 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

  1. general name for hemp, flax, jute, etc.
  2. hemp fibre; linen
  3. (historical, obsolete) hemp band worn on the head or waist by a mourner
  4. mourning garment; mourning apparel
  5. (historical) imperial edict
  6. sesame
  7. numerous; chaotic
  8. coarse; rough
  9. spotty; pitted
  10. (traditional Chinese medicine) short for 麻疹 (mázhěn, “measles”)
  11. pockmark; pock
  12. numb; senseless
  13. (of foods) having the taste like one of Sichuan pepper
  14. (Sichuanese) tipsy
  15. (Xianyou Puxian Min) astringent; acerbic; tart
  16. (Xianyou Puxian Min) itchy
  17. (Xianyou Puxian Min) cold; aloof; apathetic
  18. a surname

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

麻 · ma2 · Ma2
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source lines 123,742, 123,741
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source records麻 麻 [ma2] /generic name for hemp, flax etc/hemp or flax fiber for textile materials/sesame/CL:縷|缕[lu:3]/(of materials) rough or coarse/pocked/pitted/to have pins and needles or tingling/to feel numb/麻 麻 [Ma2] /surname Ma/