摩挲 (mó suō) — to smooth out creases (in fabric or paper) with the hand

Definition

māsa means to smooth out wrinkles or creases with the palm of the hand (fabric, paper, clothing). Reduplicate as 摩挲摩挲 for a brief, gentle smoothing.

verb
to smooth out creases (in fabric or paper) with the hand

Examples

  • 摩挲。
    Tā bǎ chuáng dān mó suō píng le.
    She smoothed the bedsheet flat with her hand.
  • 摩挲摩挲。
    Tā yòng shǒu mó suō le mó suō yī jiǎo.
    He smoothed the hem of his clothes with his hand.
  • ，摩挲。
    Zhè zhāng zhǐ zhòu le, nǐ mó suō yí xià.
    This paper is wrinkled — smooth it out.

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.

摩mó
挲sā

The characters carry no meaning of their own here; together they denote stroking or smoothing.

Sound-only characters

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
麻
麻má摩mó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

摩 combines 手 (hand) with 麻; the hand part relates to the meaning, and 麻 gives the sound.

Open 摩 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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