(máo) - hair, fur, feather; ten cents in Mandarin
máoTraditional: 毛
Translation
hair, fur, feather; ten cents
Word origin
A pictograph of a tuft of hair or a feather, the shape still visible in the sweeping final stroke.
- Origin
- pictograph
- Root
- 毛 (máo), a drawing of hair or a feather
Stroke order
毛
Examples
。
This cat's fur is very soft.
。
There is a hair on his hand.
羊。
This garment is made of wool.
笔。
A pen costs only fifty cents.
。
The bird has lost quite a few feathers.
毛 (máo) is body hair in the broad sense: fur on an animal, down on a bird, the fine hairs on an arm. The measure word is 根 for a single one, as in 一根毛.
It is not the word for the hair on your head. That is 头发, and calling it 毛 is one of the reliable giveaways of a beginner. 毛 also builds a family of everyday compounds worth knowing early: 毛巾 a towel, 羊毛 wool, 毛衣 a jumper.
The second life of the character is money. In spoken Chinese 毛 is the tenth of a yuan that the bank calls 角, so 五毛 is fifty cents. Prices are said with 毛 and written with 角, which catches learners out at the till.
Where this fits
Used in
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毛: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "毛" (hair, fur, feather; ten cents): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 47.