麻 Radical 200 — hemp, flax; numb, tingling
má (second tone, rising)
hemp, flax; numb, tingling
Radical 20011 strokes0 characters
Where the shape comes from
Hemp stalks hung to dry in pairs under a shed roof, the fibre stripped and prepared for spinning into rope and cloth. The same word later picked up the separate sense of numb, tingling, whether from the plant’s narcotic properties or the prickle of raw fibre against skin, giving 麻木, numbness, and 麻烦, trouble, bother, a nuisance that leaves one figuratively tingling with irritation.
characters filed under 麻
No published character on HSK Guide is filed under this radical yet. Character explorer.