DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

馬馬虎虎

简马马虎虎 · 繁馬馬虎虎

Mandarin · pinyin mǎ ma hū hū

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

馬: Look up this written character
虎: hǔ · tiger; brave, fierce; surname
马: mǎ · horse; surname; Kangxi radical 187

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–5–1–1 · ma3 ma5 hu1 hu1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

3character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

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.

馬馬虎虎 · find source passages ↗ · 马马虎虎 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

maa1 maa1 fu1 fu1

Cantonese word readings for 馬馬虎虎. 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.

adj

careless; sloppy
so-so; neither good nor bad

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

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