司马 (Sī mǎ) — (historical) Minister of War in the Zhou dynasty; two-character surname (Sima)

Definition

A historical Zhou-dynasty official title (Minister of War) that is also one of the most common two-character Chinese surnames (Sima). At HSK 7, learners encounter it mainly in historical or literary contexts.

noun
(historical) Minister of War in the Zhou dynastytwo-character surname (Sima)

Examples

  • 司马。
    Zhōu cháo de Sī mǎ fù zé guǎn lǐ jūn duì.
    The Sima of the Zhou dynasty was responsible for managing the army.
  • 司马。
    Sī mǎ Shì yí gè cháng jiàn de fù xìng.
    Sima is a common two-character surname.
  • ，司马。
    Jù shǐ shū jì zǎi, Sī mǎ de zhí wèi hěn gāo.
    According to historical records, the position of Sima was very high.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

司sī
马mǎ

As a surname, 司 and 马 together form one name and do not carry separate meanings here.

Sound-only characters

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The evidence is inconclusive: one suggestion sees 司 as a mouth giving orders beside a mark of authority, another reads that mark as a hand, and another sees it as a reversed older form.

Open 司 →

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 →

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