The character 嘛 — “particle of obviousness”: how to write it and what it means
particle of obviousness
The Chinese character 嘛 is read ma and means “particle of obviousness”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 嘛
嘛 has 14 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 嘛, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 嘛 is made of
On the left, 口 “mouth”; on the right, 麻 má hints at the reading.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 嘛?
嘛 has 14 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 嘛 mean?
嘛 means “particle of obviousness”.
How do you pronounce 嘛?
嘛 is read ma. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 嘛 have?
14 strokes.
← 啦 exclamatory particle哇 wow! →
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 嘛 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free