蚂

螞
mā
#2,882 most
frequent character
used in 螞螂|蚂螂[ma1lang2]

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

蚂 pairs 虫 insect, the meaning part, with 马 mǎ, the sound part. It first meant a type of leech. The meaning grew to 'ant' for mǎ. Read mā it means 'dragonfly', and read mà it means 'locust' or 'grasshopper'.

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Same Characters, Different Readings

蚂mǎ
used in 螞蟥|蚂蟥[ma3huang2]
蚂mà
used in 螞蚱|蚂蚱[ma4zha5]

Homophones

妈mā
ma, mom, mother
摩mā
used in 摩挲[ma1sa5]

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