妈妈 (mā ma) — mother, mom | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Everyday spoken word for 'mother' — warm and casual. 母亲 is the same meaning but formal and written.

noun

mothermom

Measure word · 个, 位

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

妈 names mother, and repeating it makes the familiar form 妈妈 for mom.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 媽; 妈 is its simplified writing.

女馬媽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

馬

馬mǎ媽mā

Same sound today

The traditional form 媽 pairs 女 (woman) with 馬, which gives the sound. The simplified 妈 is a later shorthand.