Meaning
磨 (mó) primarily means to grind, polish, or rub something against a surface. It can refer to physical grinding (like grinding wheat into flour) or metaphorical wearing down through persistent effort or friction. As a noun, it refers to a millstone or grinding stone.
Usage
磨 is commonly used both literally (grinding food, sharpening tools) and figuratively (磨练 means to temper or train through hardship). When pronounced mò (fourth tone), it becomes a different word meaning 'mill' or refers to the action of grinding in certain contexts. In everyday speech, it often appears in compounds rather than alone.
Examples
- 01他每天早上都要磨刀。.He sharpens his knife every morning.
- 02这些困难磨练了她的意志。.These difficulties tempered her willpower.
Measure words
- 盘一盘磨
Common collocations
- 磨刀to sharpen a knife
- 磨光to polish smooth
- 磨破to wear through, to grind a hole in
- 磨灭to obliterate, to wear away
Origin
The character 磨 combines the radical 石 (stone) with 麻 (hemp/flax), originally depicting the grinding of hemp or grain using stone tools. The phonetic component 麻 also contributes to the pronunciation.