麻 (má): hemp; flax

Meanings

1 hemp; flax
2 numb; tingling
3 pockmarked; rough

Examples

麻烦你帮我一下。

Máfan nǐ bāng wǒ yíxià.

Sorry to trouble you, could you help me?

我的手麻了。

Wǒ de shǒumá le.

My hand has gone numb.

麻婆豆腐是四川名菜。

Mápódòufu shì Sìchuān míng cài.

Mapo tofu is a famous Sichuan dish.

Tips

usage

麻 is used in: 麻烦 (trouble/sorry to bother you), 麻木 (numb), 麻将 (mahjong), 芝麻 (sesame). In Sichuan cuisine, 麻 refers to the numbing spicy sensation from Sichuan peppercorns.

culture

麻辣 (má là, numbing-spicy) is the signature flavor of Sichuan cuisine. The 麻 (numbing tingle from Sichuan peppercorns) is distinct from 辣 (chili heat) — together they create a unique sensation.

Components

pictograph

麻 má

hemp; numb

Compound pictograph: 广 (lean-to shed) sheltering two hemp-fibre stalks (historically 朩, not literal trees). The char depicts hemp being processed under a roof. 麻 is Kangxi radical 200 and the parent of 摩, 磨, 蘑. Treated as a single self-component because the radical and the char are identical.

Radical

Hemp Kangxi #200

The hemp / fiber radical, an ideogram of stripped hemp fibers (林) drying under a 广 shed roof. Indexes a small family: 麾 (banner), 靡 (waste / extravagant), 魔 (demon — phonetic borrowing from 麻). The 'numb' and 'pockmarked' meanings of 麻 itself are extensions from the rough, fibrous texture of hemp.