吗 (ma) is a Chinese character meaning “sentence-final particle that turns a statement into a”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 马 (horse), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “makes a yes/no question”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 马
Left–right structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 构形核验 (hanzi-writer-data 笔画分组: 口 3 画 + 马 3 画 = 6 画；右侧 马 mǎ 为声符)
Memory aid
The left half, 口 (mouth), is the clue to the job: this character is something you say. The right half, 马 (mǎ, horse), has nothing to do with horses here — it only carries the sound: mǎ → ma. A mouth borrowing a horse's sound to turn a statement into a question.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 好吗hǎo ma…OK? / how about it?吗 = maHSK 1
- 是吗shì mareally? / is that so?吗 = maHSK 1
Go deeper
All readings
question particle
sentence-final particle that turns a statement into a yes/no question
用在句子末尾，把陈述句变成是非问句，表示疑问。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 好吗hǎo ma…OK? / how about it?吗 = maHSK 1
- 是吗shì mareally? / is that so?吗 = maHSK 1
Sound component
马 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 吗 mean?
吗 (ma) means sentence-final particle that turns a statement into a yes/no question.
How do you pronounce 吗?
It is pronounced ma.
What parts is 吗 made of?
口 (mouth) and 马 (horse), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 构形核验 (hanzi-writer-data 笔画分组: 口 3 画 + 马 3 画 = 6 画；右侧 马 mǎ 为声符). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 吗 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 吗?
口. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 吗?
Common ones are 好吗 and 是吗. The reading of 吗 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.