How to Write 玛 (mǎ) — Meaning “agate (often used in 玛瑙)”

Imagine a horse (马) made of jade (王) – such a precious horse would be as beautiful as an agate. Or think of "Ma" like "Mama" wearing a jade necklace made of agate.

Write left radical 王 first – its third horizontal stroke changes to a rising stroke (提) when on the left. Then write right part 马 with three strokes: horizontal, vertical hook, and final horizontal. A common mistake is making the left side too wide; keep it narrow and balanced.

The right side differs: 玎 has 丁 (ding), 玑 has 几 (ji), and 玛 has 马 (ma). Their meanings are also different: 玎 describes a jade sound, 玑 means an irregular pearl, and 玛 is used in agate or transliteration names like Mary.

玛 appears mostly in transliterations of foreign names, such as 玛丽 (Mǎlì, Mary) and 托马斯 (Tuōmǎsī, Thomas). It is also part of the gemstone term 玛瑙 (mǎnǎo, agate). You won't see it often in daily conversation, but it is common in names and jewelry contexts.

Common words containing 玛 include: 玛丽 (mǎ lì) — Mary; 玛瑙 (mǎ nǎo) — agate; 托马斯 (tuō mǎ sī) — Thomas.