Chinese word

妈妈

Pronunciation

Pinyinmā mā

Meaning

  • nounmom

Example

妈妈在厨房做饭。mā mā zài chú fáng zuò fàn

Mom is cooking in the kitchen.

Illustration for 妈妈 (mom)

More examples

我给妈妈买了礼物。wǒ gěi mā mā mǎi le lǐ wù

I bought Mom a gift.

Core concept

A familiar family term for one's mother, heard in everyday home talk and especially from children.

Common phrases

  • 妈妈和爸爸mā mā hé bà bà

    mom and dad

  • 给妈妈打电话gěi mā mā dǎ diàn huà

    call mom

  • 妈妈的爱mā mā de ài

    mom's love

Similar words

妈mā: A shortened, informal way to call one's mother in everyday speech.
爸爸bà bà: The familiar family term for one's father.
哥哥gē gē: A male sibling who is older than the speaker.
妹妹mèi mèi: A female sibling who is younger than the speaker.

Definition in Chinese

用于称呼或呼唤自己的母亲，带有亲昵或儿童色彩，主要出现在口语和家庭场景中。yòng yú chēng hū huò hū huàn zì jǐ de mǔ qīn dài yǒu qīn nì huò ér tóng sè cǎi zhǔ yào chū xiàn zài kóu yǔ hé jiā tíng cháng jǐng zhōng

Word origin

妈 (mā, "mother") + 妈 (mā, "mother") repeats the kinship word to give the term a familiar, child-associated tone.

Usage tips

  • In spoken Chinese, a kinship title can also be a direct call at the beginning of a sentence, rather than only a noun inside the sentence.

Other meanings

  • mothernoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word