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司马

司馬
Sīmǎ
proper noun #54,429

Meanings

  1. 1 Sima, a compound surname
  2. 2 sima, an ancient official title, originally the minister of war

Examples

HSK 3
我的新同事姓司马，这个姓现在不多见了。
Wǒ de xīn tóngshì xìng Sīmǎ, zhège xìng xiànzài bù duō jiàn le.
My new colleague's surname is Sima; you don't see that surname much these days.
HSK 7-9
白居易被贬为江州司马。
Bái Jūyì bèi biǎn wéi Jiāngzhōu sīmǎ.
Bai Juyi was demoted to sima, assistant prefect, of Jiangzhou.

Tips

culture
Famous bearers include the historian 司马迁, the poet 司马相如, the Three Kingdoms strategist 司马懿, whose grandson founded the Jin dynasty, and the Song statesman 司马光. The surname comes from the office: a family descended from a Zhou minister of war took his title as their name.
usage
The title lives on in Bai Juyi's line 江州司马青衫湿 'the sima of Jiangzhou wets his blue robe with tears', from 琵琶行. The saying 司马昭之心，路人皆知 'Sima Zhao's ambition is known to every passer-by' describes a scheme everyone can see through.

Stroke Order

司 sī
马 mǎ