石 points to stone.
millstone; to grind, to polish, to rub, to wear out
COMMON WORD打磨 · to polish; to burnish; to shineOpen 磨 character →The 麻 Character Family
麻 recurs in these common characters. Use it to notice a pattern, then check each character’s own pronunciation and tone.
麻 is a sound clue; the left component changes the meaning.
Learn the semantic clue, then open the character page to practise it in context.
手 points to hand.
to scour, to rub, to grind; friction
COMMON WORD按摩 · massage; to massageOpen 摩 character →鬼 points to demon.
demon, evil spirit; magic, spell
COMMON WORD魔法 · enchantment; magicOpen 魔 character →口 points to mouth.
final exclamatory particle
COMMON WORD嘛 · (Tw) (coll.) what?; modal particle indicating that sth is obvious; particle indicating a pause for emphasisOpen 嘛 character →幺 points to one.
interrogative particle
Open 麼 character →米 points to rice.
rice gruel, congee; mashed
Open 糜 character →Start with these six high-value examples, then open the complete 9-character family when you are ready.
View all 9 family characters →How should I study the 麻 character family?
Compare the meaning-side component, then learn every member in a common word. The shared component is a memory aid, not a fixed pronunciation rule.