竹马

竹馬

zhúmǎ

noun #64,275

Meanings

1 a bamboo stick ridden as a toy horse
2 a girl's male childhood sweetheart

Characters

Examples

HSK 4

小时候，他常常骑着竹马在院子里玩。

Xiǎoshíhou, tā chángcháng qí zhe zhúmǎ zài yuànzi lǐ wán.

As a child, he often played in the courtyard riding a bamboo horse.

HSK 5

她和她的竹马从幼儿园就认识，后来结了婚。

Tā hé tā de zhúmǎ cóng yòu'éryuán jiù rènshi, hòulái jié le hūn.

She and her childhood sweetheart have known each other since kindergarten, and later they got married.

Tips

culture

The word comes from Li Bai's 长干行: 郎骑竹马来，绕床弄青梅 (the boy came riding a bamboo horse, circling the bed and playing with green plums), which gave 青梅竹马, childhood sweethearts. Online the pair is split: a girl's 竹马 is the boy she grew up with, and a boy's 青梅 is the girl.

Stroke Order

竹 zhú

马 mǎ