馬虎

Mandarin

Etymology

Etymology unclear. Several hypotheses exist. Compare Manchu mahu ("wry face"), lahu ("without hunting skills"); Chinese 模糊 (móhu, "unclear, fuzzy"), 麻糊 (máhú, "careless"). Attested as early as Yuan Dynasty. A literal etymology is unlikely; Individual characters are possibly chosen based on their phonetic values rather than meanings, since many variant forms exist.^[1][2][3][4]

Adjective

馬虎 (traditional, Pinyin mǎhu, simplified 马虎)

1. careless; sloppy; negligent; skimpy

Derived terms

• mǎmǎhūhū 馬馬虎虎

References

1. ^ 爱新觉罗·瀛生，《满语和汉语中的互相影响》。
2. ^ 王惠樵，《河东方言语词辑考》：河东俗谓人凡事不经意，大大列列为“喇忽”。
3. ^ 《清稗类钞‧方言类‧上海方言》：“马马虎虎，颟顸也，实即模模糊糊之转音耳。混天糊涂，糊涂之至也。”
4. ^ 周作人，1935，《苦竹杂记‧模糊》：“模糊今俗语云麻糊，或写作马虎。我想这不必一定用动物名，还是写麻糊字，而南北可通用。”