妈呀 (māya): mummy!

Meanings

1 mummy!
2 oh my!
3 yikes!

Characters

妈

(exclamatory particle)

Examples

妈呀,吓死我了!

Mā ya, xià sǐ wǒ le!

Mummy! You scared me to death!

妈呀,这辣椒也太辣了。

Mā ya, zhè làjiāo yě tài là le.

Oh my, this chilli is far too spicy.

Tips

register

Colloquial, slightly childish — fine among friends and family, rarely appropriate in formal speech. In northeastern dialect speakers often stretch it to 妈呀呀 for comic emphasis.

Stroke Order

妈 mā

呀 ya

Related Words

哎呀妈呀 āiyāmāya

oh my! / oh my goodness! / good heavens!

我的妈呀 wǒdemāya

oh my God! / holy cow! / literally: oh my mother!

妈 mā HSK 1 #224

mom; mother / ma; mama

妈妈 māma HSK 1 #167

mom / mother

哎呀 āiyā HSK 7 #4,190

oh my! (expressing wonder, shock, or admiration) / darn!; gosh!

姨妈 yímā #5,558

aunt (mother's sister) / maternal aunt

姑妈 gūmā #5,620

aunt (father's sister) / paternal aunt

呀 ya HSK 4 #332

ah!; oh! (exclamation of surprise) / (sentence-final particle, variant of 啊)

妈宝 mābǎo

mama's boy / adult who is overly attached to or controlled by his mother

挖呀挖 wāyawā

"dig and dig" / 2023 viral Douyin nursery-rhyme meme