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麻花 (má huā) — fried dough twist (a twisted, crispy snack); worn shiny area on clothing (from overuse or friction)

Definition

麻花 has two unrelated senses: the twisted fried-dough snack, and a shiny worn patch on clothing from friction (e.g., on the knees of pants). Only the second sense uses the verb 磨 'to rub'.

noun
fried dough twist (a twisted, crispy snack)worn shiny area on clothing (from overuse or friction)
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 麻花。
    Wǒ zài tiān jīn mǎi le yì xiē má huā dài huí jiā.
    I bought some fried dough twists in Tianjin and brought them home.
  • 麻花，。
    Zhè zhǒng má huā yòu cuì yòu xiāng, hěn hǎo chī.
    This kind of fried dough twist is crispy and fragrant, very tasty.
  • 麻花。
    Tā kù zi de xī gài chù dōu mó chū má huā le.
    He has worn shiny patches on the knees of his pants from friction.

Origin

Characters in this word

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
化
化huà花
Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

Open 花 →
Appears in
Food (General)

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