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麻将 (má jiàng) — mahjong

Definition

noun
mahjong
Measure word · 副

Examples

  • 麻将。
    Zhōu mò wǒ men jīng cháng yì qǐ dǎ má jiàng.
    We often play mahjong together on weekends.
  • 麻将。
    Tā mǎi le yí fù xīn má jiàng.
    He bought a new set of mahjong.
  • 麻将。
    Xué má jiàng xū yào jì zhù hěn duō pái xíng.
    Learning mahjong requires memorizing many tile patterns.

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.

麻má
将jiāng

麻将 names the tile game; the characters carry no meaning of their own here.

Sound-only characters

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

麻 combines 厂 and 𣏟 to represent hemp leaves.

Open 麻 →

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 將; 将 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
爿
爿pán將jiāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 將 combines 爿, which also supplies a sound and may show a small table, with ⺼ (meat) and 寸 (hand) to picture offering meat as tribute. The simplified 将 is a later shorthand.

Open 将 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Games & Puzzles

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