馬腳

See also: 马脚 and 馬脚

Chinese

		horse; surname	role; foot; base
trad. (馬腳)		馬	腳
simp. (马脚)		马	脚

Etymology

First attested in works written in Yuan dynasty. In folk etymology, this term is attributed to Empress Ma, the first queen of Ming dynasty, who did not have her feet bound because she originated from a peasant family, contrary to upper-class women at that time.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): mǎjiǎo

(Zhuyin): ㄇㄚˇ ㄐㄧㄠˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): maa⁵ goek³
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): mâ-kiok

(Meixian, Guangdong): ma¹ giog⁵
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): bé-kha / bée-kha

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: mǎjiǎo [Phonetic: májiǎo]
  - Zhuyin: ㄇㄚˇ ㄐㄧㄠˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: mǎjiǎo
  - Wade–Giles: ma³-chiao³
  - Yale: mǎ-jyǎu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: maajeau
  - Palladius: мацзяо (maczjao)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /mä²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: maa⁵ goek³
  - Yale: máh geuk
  - Cantonese Pinyin: maa⁵ goek⁸
  - Guangdong Romanization: ma⁵ gêg³
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /maː¹³ kœːk̚³/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: mâ-kiok
  - Hakka Romanization System: ma^ˊ giog^ˋ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: ma¹ giog⁵
  - Sinological IPA: /ma²⁴ ki̯ok̚²/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: ma¹ giog⁵
  - Sinological IPA: /ma⁴⁴⁻³⁵ kiɔk̚¹/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bé-kha
  - Tâi-lô: bé-kha
  - Phofsit Daibuun: befqaf
  - IPA (Xiamen, Taipei): /be⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kʰa⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /be⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ kʰa⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /be⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ kʰa³³/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bée-kha
  - Tâi-lô: bée-kha
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /bɛ⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kʰa⁴⁴/

Middle Chinese: maeX kjak

Rime
Character	馬	腳
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	明 (4)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	麻 (98)	藥 (107)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	II	III
Fanqie	莫下切	居勺切
Baxter	maeX	kjak
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/mˠa^X/	/kɨɐk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/mᵚa^X/	/kiɐk̚/
Shao Rongfen	/ma^X/	/kiɑk̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/maɨ^X/	/kɨak̚/
Li Rong	/ma^X/	/kiak̚/
Wang Li	/ma^X/	/kĭak̚/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ma^X/	/ki̯ak̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	mǎ	jue
Expected Cantonese Reflex	maa⁵	goek³

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*mˤraʔ [k]ak/

(Zhengzhang): /*mraːʔ kaɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	馬	腳
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	mǎ	jiǎo
Middle Chinese	‹ mæ^X ›	‹ kjak ›
Old Chinese	/*mˁraʔ/	/*[k]ak/
English	horse	leg, foot
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	馬	腳
Reading #	1/1	1/1
No.	8715	10737
Phonetic component	馬	郤
Rime group	魚	鐸
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	馬	腳
Old Chinese	/*mraːʔ/	/*kaɡ/

Noun

馬腳

horse's feet
(figurative) cloven foot; something that gives the game away; mistake or gap in a speech or theory; flaw
他裝英國人，但他的口音讓他露了馬腳。 [MSC, trad.]
他装英国人，但他的口音让他露了马脚。 [MSC, simp.]
Tā zhuāng Yīngguórén, dàn tā de kǒuyīn ràng tā lòu le mǎjiǎo. [Pinyin]
He pretended to be British, but his foreign accent gave him away.

Synonyms

(cloven foot): 漏洞 (lòudòng), 破綻／破绽 (pòzhàn), (Hokkien) 龜跤／龟跤

Derived terms

不露馬腳 / 不露马脚
走了馬腳 / 走了马脚
露出馬腳 / 露出马脚 (lòuchū mǎjiǎo)
露馬腳 / 露马脚 (lòumǎjiǎo)
馬屁拍在馬腳上 / 马屁拍在马脚上

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (馬腳):

→ Japanese: 馬脚(ばきゃく) (bakyaku)
→ Korean: 마각(馬腳) (magak)
→ Vietnamese: mã cước (馬腳)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
馬	腳
Grade: 2	Hyōgai

For pronunciation and definitions of 馬腳 – see the following entry: 馬脚

(The following entry does not have a page created for it yet: 馬脚.)