骂(mà) - to scold, to swear at, to tell off in Mandarin

骂 (mà) covers everything from a parent's telling off to a stream of foul language in the street. The one thing that stays constant is that the words are aimed at somebody in anger; the strength depends entirely on who is speaking to whom.

Two patterns do most of the work. 骂人 with the generic object means to swear or to be abusive in general, and 骂 plus a person means to have a go at that person: 老板骂了我, the boss had a go at me. Add 一顿 for a good long one, and 挨骂 for being on the receiving end.

The trap is register. English keeps scold, tell off and swear at well apart, and Chinese does not, so a learner who translates 妈妈骂我 as my mother swore at me overshoots badly. Watch the tone as well: 骂 is fourth tone and quite unlike the neutral-tone question particle 吗, which shares the same 马 element.