Word

黑马 (hēi mǎ) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 7

Meaning of 黑马

名 míng noun

dark horse

这位运动员成为了比赛的黑马。

zhè wèi yùn dòng yuán chéng wéi le bǐ sài de hēi mǎ

This athlete became the dark horse of the competition.

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Word breakdown

黑 hēi — black, dark (indicating unexpected or unknown quality)

1 黑色 hēi sè — black HSK 2
- 黑 black (the color)
- 色 color
Example

他穿着黑色的衣服。

tā chuān zhe hēi sè de yī fu

He is wearing black clothes.
2 黑板 hēi bǎn — blackboard HSK 3
- 黑 black (color)
- 板 board, plank
Example

老师在黑板上写字。

lǎo shī zài hēi bǎn shàng xiě zì

The teacher writes on the blackboard.
3 黑暗 hēi àn — dark HSK 6
- 黑 black, contributes the concept of blackness and absence of light
- 暗 dim/dark, reinforces and intensifies the darkness meaning
Example

走廊里很黑暗

zǒu láng lǐ hěn hēi àn

The corridor is very dark
4 漆黑 qī hēi — pitch-black HSK 7
- 漆 lacquer; used as an intensifier meaning 'pitch' or 'extremely'
- 黑 black; dark
Example

外面漆黑，什么都看不见。

wài miàn qī hēi shén me dōu kàn bù jiàn

It's pitch-black outside, can't see anything.
5 颠倒黑白 diān dǎo hēi bái — to confuse right and wrong; to distort facts HSK 7
- 颠 overturn, topple
- 倒 reverse, invert
- 黑 black (representing wrong/evil)
- 白 white (representing right/good)
Example

媒体不应该颠倒黑白误导公众。

méi tǐ bù yīng gāi diān dǎo hēi bái wù dǎo gōng zhòng

The media should not distort facts and mislead the public.

Show more (+2)

6 黑名单 hēi míng dān — blacklist HSK 7
- 黑 black (indicating something negative or forbidden)
- 名 name (indicating a list of names or people)
- 单 list (a roster or registry)
Example

他因为违规被加入了黑名单。

tā yīn wèi wéi guī bèi jiā rù le hēi míng dān

He was added to the blacklist for violating rules.
7 黑客 hēi kè — hacker HSK 7
- 黑 black/dark, suggesting the underground or illegal nature of unauthorized access
- 客 guest/visitor, suggesting someone who enters systems uninvited
Example

黑客攻击了公司的网络系统。

hēi kè gōng jī le gōng sī de wǎng luò xì tǒng

Hackers attacked the company's network system.

马 mǎ — horse (metaphorically: competitor or candidate)

Structure & writing

1 黑 hēi — black (color, opposite of white)

黑 is a component in 3 characters

HSK 4

默 mò to be silent, make no sound (reduplicated)

HSK 6

嘿 hēi hey (greeting or to get attention)

HSK 7

墨 mò ink stick (made from soot or pine smoke); also the liquid ink made by grinding it with water

黑 is an atomic character — it does not decompose further.

Stroke order

2 马 mǎ — horse

马 is a component in 24 characters

HSK 1

吗 ma same as "嘛" 妈 mā mom; mother (reduplicated form)

HSK 3

码 mǎ a symbol or figure representing a number; a code number 骑 qí to ride (an animal or other thing) astride

HSK 4

骄 jiāo arrogant, conceited 验 yàn to inspect; to examine

HSK 5

驶 shǐ to run swiftly (of vehicles, horses, etc.) 驾 jià to harness (a cart or farm implement) to an animal 骂 mà to insult or abuse with crude or malicious words 骗 piàn to deceive; to cheat; to trick

HSK 6

蚂 mǎ see "蚂蟥"; common name for leeches 闯 chuǎng to rush forward boldly; to charge 骤 zhòu (lit.) (of a horse) to gallop

HSK 7

腾 téng to run or leap 驭 yù to drive (a carriage or horse) 驮 tuó to carry on the back (of an animal) 驯 xùn tame, docile (of animals) 驰 chí to gallop; to speed (of horses, vehicles, etc.)

Show more HSK 7 characters (+6)

驱 qū to urge on a horse; to drive animals 驳 bó to refute; to rebut an opposing view 驻 zhù to stop; to halt (of vehicles, horses, etc.) 骇 hài to frighten; to shock 骏 jùn fine horse; steed 骚 sāo to disturb, to cause unrest

马 is an atomic character — it does not decompose further.

Stroke order