TongTong
Sign in

黑马 (hēi mǎ) — dark horse; unexpected winner

Definition

A metaphor for an unexpected winner — a competitor nobody predicted would succeed. Often used in sports, business, and elections to describe a surprise contender.

noun
dark horseunexpected winner
Measure word · 匹

Examples

  • 黑马。
    Shuí yě méi xiǎng dào zhè pǐ hēi mǎ huì duó guàn.
    No one expected this dark horse to win the championship.
  • 黑马。
    Nà jiā chū chuàng qǐ yè chéng le kē jì jiè de hēi mǎ.
    That startup became a dark horse in the tech world.
  • ，黑马。
    Tā xùn liàn le sān nián, zuì zhōng chéng wéi yì pǐ hēi mǎ.
    He trained for three years and eventually became a dark horse.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

黑hēiblack
马mǎhorse

黑 (black) plus 马 (horse) gives a dark horse, an unexpected winner.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 黑 seems to come from drawing a head marked with dots, usually read as facial tattoos.

Open 黑 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 馬; 马 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 馬 shows a horse with its head facing left, a flowing mane, and two legs standing vertically.

Open 马 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Sports & Athletics

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.