Dictionary › 毛

毛

máo

Old HSK 5 HSK 3.0 character level 3 Character

毛 (máo) means "hair, fur, wool". It is an HSK 3.0 level 3 word, and was HSK 5 in the old six-level list.

What 毛 means

1. hair
2. feather
3. down
4. wool
5. mildew
6. mold
7. coarse or semifinished
8. young
9. raw
10. careless
11. unthinking
12. nervous
13. scared
14. (of currency) to devalue or depreciate
15. classifier for Chinese fractional monetary unit ( = {角|jiǎo} , = one-tenth of a yuan or 10 fen {分|fēn})

Other readings

毛 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• Máosurname Mao

Example sentences

• 你有毛毯吗？
  Nǐ yǒu máotǎn ma?
  Do you have a woollen blanket?
• 你看个毛呢？
  What the hell are you looking at?
• 他胸口很多毛。
  Tā xiōngkǒu hěn duō máo.
  He has a hairy chest.
• 冬天穿羊毛衣。
  We wear wool in winter.
• 她穿着羊毛衣。
  She was dressed in wool.
• 你剃过腿毛吗？
  Have you ever shaved your legs?

Words starting with 毛

• 毛巾máo jīntowel
• 毛病máo bìngfault; defect; shortcomings
• 毛泽东Máo Zé dōngMao Zedong (1893–1976), leader of the Chinese Communist Party 1935–1976
• 毛主席Máo zhǔ xíChairman Mao; Mao Zedong 毛泽东
• 毛衣máo yī(wool) sweater
• 毛毛Máo mao(pet name for a baby or small child)
• 毛泽东思想Máo Zé dōng Sī xiǎngMao Zedong Thought
• 毛笔máo bǐwriting brush
• 毛骨悚然máo gǔ sǒng ránto have one's hair stand on end (idiom); to feel one's blood run cold
• 毛线máo xiànknitting wool; wool yarn
• 毛驴máo lǘdonkey
• 毛毯máo tǎnblanket
• 毛孔máo kǒngpore
• 毛利máo lìgross profit
• 毛发máo fàhair
• 毛毛虫máo mao chóngcaterpillar
• 毛茸茸máo róng rónghairy; downy
• 毛主席语录Máo zhǔ xí Yǔ lùQuotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung, published 1964–1979 and widely distributed during…
• 毛皮máo pífur; pelt
• 毛子máo zihairy fellow; foreigner; Russian (derog.)
• 毛豆máo dòuimmature green soy beans, either still in the pod (edamame) or removed from the pod
• 毛毛雨máo mao yǔdrizzle; light rain; (fig.) mere trifle; sth that has only a weak effect
• 毛选Máo xuǎnSelected Works of Mao Zedong (abbr. for 毛泽东选集
• 毛竹máo zhúmoso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis), used as timber etc

Words containing 毛

• 羽毛球yǔ máo qiúbadminton; shuttlecock
• 眉毛méi maoeyebrow
• 羽毛yǔ máofeather; plumage; plume
• 睫毛jié máoeyelashes
• 羊毛yáng máowool; fleece
• 长毛cháng máolong-wool (sheep etc); long-haired (dog etc)
• 鸡毛jī máochicken feather; trivial
• 皮毛pí máofur; fur clothing; skin and hair
• 绒毛róng máofur; down (soft fur); villi capillary (in the small intestine)
• 汗毛hàn máohair; soft hair; down
• 鸡毛蒜皮jī máo suàn pílit. chicken feathers and garlic skins (idiom); fig. trivial (matter)
• 发毛fā máoto rant and rave; to be scared, upset (Beijing dialect)
• 老毛病lǎo máo bìngchronic illness; old weakness; chronic problem
• 白毛女Bái máo nǚThe White Haired Girl (1950), one of the first PRC films
• 凤毛麟角fèng máo lín jiǎolit. as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns (idiom); fig. few and far between
• 白毛bái máowhite hair (of animals); see also 白发
• 羊毛衫yáng máo shānwool sweater; cardigan
• 出毛病chū máo bìnga problem appears; to break down
• 鹅毛é máogoose feather
• 多如牛毛duō rú niú máo(lit.) as numerous as the hairs of an ox (idiom); (fig.) innumerable; countless
• 阴毛yīn máopubic hair
• 眼睫毛yǎn jié máoeyelashes
• 金毛jīn máoblond fur; golden hair; (colloquial) golden retriever
• 吹毛求疵chuī máo qiú cīlit. to blow apart the hairs upon a fur to discover any defect (idiom)…

Characters that look like 毛

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 手shǒuhand; (formal) to hold; person engaged in certain types of work
• 电diànlightning; electricity; electric (bound form)
• 乏fáshort of; tired
• 厄èdistressed
• 孔kǒnghole; classifier for cave dwellings
• 甩shuǎito throw; to fling; to swing

Sounds the same

Read máo, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 矛spear; lance; pike
• 髦bang (hair); fashionable; mane
• 茅reeds; rushes
• 猫used in 猫腰
• 锚anchor
• 牦yak (Bos grunniens)
• 酕used in 酕醄
• 蟊Spanish fly; grain-eating grub
• 髳bang (hair); fashionable; mane
• 旄banner decorated with animal's tail
• 蝥variant of 蟊
• 茆variant of 茅; thatch

Where 毛 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Miscellaneous Objects, Places & Terms B (HSK 5), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 5 word, with the rest of its level.
• How characters are built from components.
• How to learn Chinese characters.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read máo correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.