má
Each syllable carries one of six tones; the mark on the vowel tells you which. How the six tones sound →
má means cheek.
Meanings of má in English
Noun
- cheek
Noun
- See rau má (“Asiatic pennywort”).
Noun
- in compounds rice seedlings
Words with má
Example sentences with má
- Má tôi bảo tôi đi cắt cỏ. Mother told me to mow the lawn.
- Hai má của cô đỏ rực lên. Her cheeks were bright red.
- Má cô ấy đỏ bừng lên. Her cheeks were bright red.
- Cô ấy đã hôn lên má anh ấy. She kissed him on the cheek.
- Má cô ấy đỏ lên. Her cheeks reddened.
- Má tui sống ở Dudelange. My mother lives in Dudelange.
- Ba tui biết bơi, nhưng má tui thì không. Father can swim, but Mother cannot.
- Cô ấy thơm vào má tôi và nói chúc ngủ ngon. She kissed me on the cheek and said goodnight.
Bilingual example sentences from Tatoeba (tatoeba.org, CC BY 2.0 FR).
Historical script (chữ Nôm / Hán)
Before the Latin alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ) became standard, má could be written as 𦟐, 媽, 𥡗. Today Vietnamese is written only in the Latin alphabet.
Etymology
From Proto-Vietic *-maːʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer. Cognate with Tho [Cuối Chăm] maː³ ("cheek"), Arem umæːʔ ("gills"), Proto-Palaungic *cəmaːʔ (“cheek”) (whence Riang [Sak] sᵊmɑʔ²), Proto-Nicobarese *samaː (whence Central Nicobarese [Nancowry] shama (“jaw”)) and Bondo ǰama ("jaw").
Frequently asked questions
What does má mean in English?
má (noun) means "cheek".
How do you pronounce má?
IPA: Hanoi [maː˧˦]; Saigon [maː˦˥]. Tones: má — rising tone (sắc).
What classifier is used with má?
Common classifiers: cái — for example "một cái má" (one cheek).