吗
ma
(yes/no question particle)
Type: ParticlesHSK 1
Radical 口 (mouth) + 马 (horse, phonetic). It's a question particle added to the end of a sentence.
One of the first particles you learn. It turns any statement into a yes/no question. '你好' (hello) becomes '你好吗' (how are you?). It has no Spanish or English equivalent — it's unique to Chinese.
口kǒumouth
马mǎhorse
你好吗？
Nǐ hǎo ma?
How are you?
Want to take it further?
This list will always be here whenever you need it. And when you feel like really practising and making the words stick, the HSK 1 Lan app has everything you need:
- 90 radicals explained
- The full HSK1 vocabulary
- 150 practice phrases
- Pronunciation audio
- Animated stroke order