毛 (máo): hair; feather; fur

Meanings

1 hair; feather; fur
2 dime (1/10 of a yuan)

Characters

毛

máo

hair; fur; dime

Examples

HSK 1

这个五毛钱。

Zhège wǔ máo qián.

This costs five dimes (0.5 yuan).

HSK 3

秋天到了，很多动物开始换毛。

Qiūtiān dào le, hěnduō dòngwù kāishǐ huàn máo.

Autumn has come, and many animals are starting to shed their fur.

HSK 5

猫的毛很软。

Māo de máo hěn ruǎn.

The cat's fur is very soft.

Tips

culture

毛 as a currency unit equals 1/10 of a yuan (元). In everyday speech, people say 毛 instead of the formal 角. So 两块五毛 = 2.50 yuan.

history

毛 is also a common surname - most famously 毛泽东, founder of the People's Republic of China.

Components

pictograph

毛 máo

hair; fur

Four-stroke 毛 is itself a Kangxi radical and not further decomposable. The oracle-bone graph depicts a single tuft of hair or feather, with the central shaft and curling tip clearly visible. From the literal hair came figurative senses - fluff, the smallest copper coin, the tiniest amount, and the surname 毛 of Mao Zedong.

Radical

Fur Kangxi #82

Pictograph of a tuft of hair or a feather. As a radical 毛 marks characters about hair, fur, wool, and downy textures: 毫 (a fine hair, hence 'minuscule'), 毯 (rug), 毡 (felt), 毽 (shuttlecock), 毕 (finish — though this one is filed under 比 in some indexes).