馬 / 马
maa⁵
The Cantonese word for horse is 馬 / 马 (maa⁵).
馬 / 马 refers to members of the species Equus ferus.
Meaning: members of the species ''Equus ferus'' (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is maa⁵.
Did you know?
- In Cantonese slang, the word 馬 appears in 馬屁, which means 'horse fart'. This phrase is used to describe blatant flattery or 'brown-nosing'.
- While 馬 means horse, the Cantonese word for 'knight' in chess is 馬, meaning the piece is literally called a 'horse' rather than a 'knight'.
- The Cantonese term for a 'stable' is 馬廄, but in modern city contexts, the concept of a horse is more often linked to the 'horse racing' culture of Hong Kong, which is a major social and economic pillar.
Examples in context
- 我喜歡騎馬。I enjoy horse riding.
- 這匹馬非常高大。This horse is very tall.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “horse” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
