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毛máoclassifier for Chinese fractional monetary unit ( = 角[jiao3] , = one-tenth of a yuan or 10 fen 分[fen1])

HSK 3word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

毛 (máo) means a measure word for the Chinese fractional monetary unit, one-tenth of a yuan, the same as 角, as in 五毛 (fifty fen). As a noun it also means "hair," "feather," or "down," for example an animal's fur. Prices often combine 块 and 毛.

What does 毛 mean?

  1. 1.

    classifier for Chinese fractional monetary unit ( = 角[jiao3] , = one-tenth of a yuan or 10 fen 分[fen1])measure word

  2. 2.

    hairnoun

  3. 3.

    feathernoun

What does the character 毛 mean?

  • 毛classifier for Chinese fractional monetary unit ( = 角[jiao3] , = one-tenth of a yuan or 10 fen 分[fen1])

How do you use 毛?

In spoken prices, 毛 follows 块, as in 两块五毛; 毛 is the spoken form and 角 is the written one.

Patterns

  • number + 块 + number + 毛

    一共三块八毛。

    Yígòng sān kuài bā máo.

    That's three yuan eighty in total.

What are some examples of 毛 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    这个苹果五毛钱。

    Zhège píngguǒ wǔ máo qián.

    This apple costs fifty fen.

  2. HSK 1

    一块面包两块五毛。

    Yí kuài miànbāo liǎng kuài wǔ máo.

    One piece of bread is two yuan fifty.

  3. HSK 2

    这只猫的毛很长。

    Zhè zhī māo de máo hěn cháng.

    This cat's fur is very long.

How is 毛 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    一瓶水多少钱？

    Yì píng shuǐ duōshao qián?

    How much is a bottle of water?

  2. Speaker B:

    两块五毛。

    Liǎng kuài wǔ máo.

    Two yuan fifty.

  3. Speaker A:

    给你三块。

    Gěi nǐ sān kuài.

    Here's three yuan.

  4. Speaker B:

    找你五毛，谢谢。

    Zhǎo nǐ wǔ máo, xièxie.

    Here's fifty fen change. Thanks.

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.