How to Write 蚂 (mǎ/mà) — Meaning “Ant / Grasshopper (prefix)”

Picture a horse (马) covered in tiny ants (虫) – the horse feels itchy because of all the ants crawling on it. This funny image helps you connect the insect radical with the horse sound to remember 蚂 means ant-like creatures.

Write the left part 虫 narrow and the right part 马 slightly wider – the two halves should be balanced. A common mistake is making the dot in 虫 too large or forgetting that the final stroke in 马 is a horizontal line, not a hook.

All three use the insect radical 虫, but their right parts are different: 马 (horse) for 蚂, 九 (nine) for 虬, and 几 (table) for 虮. 蚂 only appears in insect names like 蚂蚁 (ant), while 虬 means a young dragon and 虮 means louse eggs.

蚂 is almost always used as a prefix in compound words for insects, such as 蚂蚁 (ant), 蚂蚱 (grasshopper), and 蚂蟥 (leech). In Chinese culture, ants (蚂蚁) are a symbol of hard work and teamwork, often used in idioms like 蚂蚁啃骨头 (ants gnawing a bone, meaning persistent effort).

Common words containing 蚂 include: 蚂蚁 (mǎ yǐ) — Ant; 蚂蚱 (mà zhà) — Grasshopper; 蚂蟥 (mǎ huáng) — Leech.