<p>么 and 幺 are recognized alternative &quot;spellings&quot;  for the same thing in many instances, which is completely unrelated to any simplified or traditional chinese standards-- in this case they aren't two different characters, just alternate forms of the same 么. Each region chose their official standards decades ago yes, that doesn't mean that colloquial and individual variations disappeared.  Especially when most of the &quot;hard rules&quot; of character appearance are not really standard related-- they are honestly purely born from how poorly ckjv languages are coded into unicode-- thats a whole different discussion itself though.</p>
<p>A comparison could be how some people write a 4 connected just like the font here, while some make a 90 degree angle straight up and down.  This difference is equivalent to that difference basically, a font choice. Before typing you would probably rarely be able to distinguish these characters even if you wanted to, what with lines running together in handwriting etc.</p>
<p>That said to do it in typing is unusual since you would have to go out of your way to &quot;write&quot; the other version that isn't standardized.  So even if its an officially recognized alternative its kinda weird in text-- like replacing all your &quot;and&quot; with an &amp; or + on a computer.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-18T07:53:10.057Z
when you say each region, are you reffering to mainland, hong kong and taiwan? or plus each region of mainland china (please dont tell me there are variations within the regions of mainland china too :(  ). If im looking at learning from mainland China point of view, should I still consider 么 and 幺 as recognized alternative "spellings"?    Also, are you saying that 么 is THE weird way to write 幺?
Roosty Boy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-18T15:25:05.463Z
As far as standards go there is only one per each governed region that uses chinese in the world ((mainland, macau, taiwan, hk, malaysia, etc)).  Same as usa, uk, australia, etc.  It is totally possible to see all sorts of other unofficial variations within each area, but you will never be wrong using the official choice.  Yes, 么 for 幺 is weird typing on a computer.  In handwriting you can't tell the difference between them usually so its moot.
zagrycha
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-19T09:51:40.917Z
So from the feedback here and reading other sites, Im summarising that for "yao" both 么 and 幺 can be used (but 幺 is more common in mainland). However using "me","ma" or "mo" always has to be 么. Have I got that correct?
Roosty Boy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-19T19:24:25.723Z
@RoostyBoy My personal summary based on general use: In handriting its moot.  In typing its rare to interchange at all, but 么 for 幺 in the scenario you list is far far rarer than 幺 for 么-- very possibly a simple typo or unique to a small area//nonstandard education.  Please be aware that 么 as a surname is pronounced as yāo, completely  unrelated to this discussion example but maybe muddying your search.
zagrycha
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-19T22:57:41.697Z
"么 for 幺 in the scenario you list is far far rarer than 幺 for 么" — does this mean, in your experince, people are using 幺 instead for shenme 什么 (what?) . Btw I Would upvote if i had the reputation.
Roosty Boy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-18T05:03:35.027Z
2024-08-18T05:03:35.027Z
zagrycha
<p>么(同“幺”) - 一的別稱. 如：「么二三……。」. 《康熙字典》【韻會】俗幺字。See <a href="https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E4%B9%88" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E4%B9%88</a></p>
<p>幺 -「么 」的异体字。See <a href="https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E5%B9%BA" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E5%B9%BA</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-18T23:31:56.973Z
on that page --同“幺” means "same as."..?  I cant reead most of the characters on the page but ma  ㄇㄚ;  me  ㄇㄜ  I have never seen those before.  Then further down the page it has (2) 另见 yāo;mó;ma...so it can also be mó? Appreciate the link but are you able to explain these things? thx
Roosty Boy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-19T04:12:40.967Z
"么"同(the same as)“幺”. Some Chinese words have more than one meaning/use, in this case, "么" was used to be the same as "吗" and "嘛” (no longer the case now), and it is the simplified word of "麽".  "mó" is a typo of "me".
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-19T07:11:14.270Z
when you say "mó" is a typo of "me" do you mean it's incorrect or a typo is where it originally came from and is now accepted? (like the "all blacks")
Roosty Boy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-19T13:58:09.530Z
I made a mistake by saying it was a typo. The correct interpretation should be "么(me). For other meanings/use, see entries under 么 pronounced as  yāo, mó, and ma."
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-19T15:23:27.673Z
A quick summary: 么(yāo) = 幺(yāo) = the number "1"; the youngest(老么; 么ㄦ/弟/妹/叔/姨). 么 is also the simplified form of the traditional character - "麽", which has the pronunciation of "mó", "me" and "ma". Hope this helps.
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-18T03:17:05.440Z
2024-08-18T03:24:12.317Z
2024-08-18T03:24:12.317Z
r13
<p>As per title, Someone said 24-hour time for 0215 can be 零二么五小時 --- Why would 么 be used instead of 幺? Havent these 2 characters been different for nearly 70 years?</p>
<p>Instead 么 mean in pinyin &quot;me&quot;,&quot;ma&quot;,&quot;mo&quot; and 幺 is only &quot;yao&quot; (although some websites say 么 can also mean &quot;yao&quot;, which is leaving me a bit confused)</p>
<p>thanks</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-18T01:14:08.543Z
I don't know who you were talking to, but 么 is only recognised as 麽 for people who are using Simplified Chinese (that's post-1956 text coming from Mainland China). If you show 么 to anyone else, they would either interpret it the same as 幺, or not recognise it.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-18T01:19:35.257Z
么means small, youngest, or just one. 么妹 means youngest sister; 么雞 in marjong means 一條. 么二三四 mean one,, two, three, four. So, 零二么五小時 means 零二一五小時. This is usually used in military. For example, 么洞拐 means 107.
joehua
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-18T02:26:20.917Z
@joehua -- is that for mainland china or hong kong and taiwan?
Roosty Boy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-18T02:38:40.557Z
@dROOOze -- chinese.yabla.com and omgchinese.com are saying that 麼 (not just 麽) is also recognised as 么
Roosty Boy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-18T03:16:38.150Z
it was @R13, I wish there was a way to communicate with him/her.
Roosty Boy
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-18T04:42:40.133Z
Curiously, one of the authors of the HSK6 Standard Course is [么书君 (Yao Shujun)](https://i.sstatic.net/LhUYzyfd.jpg).
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-18T13:37:27.503Z
@Becky李蓓  "么 - 姓。如明代有么謙。"
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-08-19T01:54:03.477Z
@joehua on that page --同“幺” means "same as."..? I cant read most of the characters on the page but ma ㄇㄚ; me ㄇㄜ I have never seen those before. Then further down the page it has (2) 另见 yāo;mó;ma...so it can also be mó? Appreciate the link but are you able to explain these things? thx
Roosty Boy
<particles><traditional-vs-simplified><time>
Someone said 24-hour time for 0215 can be 零二么五小時 --- Why would 么 be used instead of 幺? Havent these 2 characters been different for nearly 70 years?
# Someone said 24-hour time for 0215 can be 零二么五小時 --- Why would 么 be used instead of 幺? Havent these 2 characters been different for nearly 70 years?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-08-18)

As per title, Someone said 24-hour time for 0215 can be 零二么五小時 --- Why would 么 be used instead of 幺? Havent these 2 characters been different for nearly 70 years?

Instead 么 mean in pinyin "me","ma","mo" and 幺 is only "yao" (although some websites say 么 can also mean "yao", which is leaving me a bit confused)

thanks

**Tags:** particles, traditional-vs-simplified, time

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I don't know who you were talking to, but 么 is only recognised as 麽 for people who are using Simplified Chinese (that's post-1956 text coming from Mainland China). If you show 么 to anyone else, they would either interpret it the same as 幺, or not recognise it.  
> **username_2**: 么means small, youngest, or just one. 么妹 means youngest sister; 么雞 in marjong means 一條. 么二三四 mean one,, two, three, four. So, 零二么五小時 means 零二一五小時. This is usually used in military. For example, 么洞拐 means 107.  
> **username_0**: @username_2 -- is that for mainland china or hong kong and taiwan?  
> **username_0**: @username_1 -- chinese.yabla.com and omgchinese.com are saying that 麼 (not just 麽) is also recognised as 么  
> **username_0**: it was @R13, I wish there was a way to communicate with him/her.  
> **username_3**: Curiously, one of the authors of the HSK6 Standard Course is [么书君 (Yao Shujun)](https://i.sstatic.net/LhUYzyfd.jpg).  
> **username_4**: @username_3  "么 - 姓。如明代有么謙。"  
> **username_0**: @username_2 on that page --同“幺” means "same as."..? I cant read most of the characters on the page but ma ㄇㄚ; me ㄇㄜ I have never seen those before. Then further down the page it has (2) 另见 yāo;mó;ma...so it can also be mó? Appreciate the link but are you able to explain these things? thx  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2024-08-18. Score: 1

么 and 幺 are recognized alternative "spellings" for the same thing in many instances, which is completely unrelated to any simplified or traditional chinese standards-- in this case they aren't two different characters, just alternate forms of the same 么. Each region chose their official standards decades ago yes, that doesn't mean that colloquial and individual variations disappeared. Especially when most of the "hard rules" of character appearance are not really standard related-- they are honestly purely born from how poorly ckjv languages are coded into unicode-- thats a whole different discussion itself though.

A comparison could be how some people write a 4 connected just like the font here, while some make a 90 degree angle straight up and down. This difference is equivalent to that difference basically, a font choice. Before typing you would probably rarely be able to distinguish these characters even if you wanted to, what with lines running together in handwriting etc.

That said to do it in typing is unusual since you would have to go out of your way to "write" the other version that isn't standardized. So even if its an officially recognized alternative its kinda weird in text-- like replacing all your "and" with an & or + on a computer.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: when you say each region, are you reffering to mainland, hong kong and taiwan? or plus each region of mainland china (please dont tell me there are variations within the regions of mainland china too :(  ). If im looking at learning from mainland China point of view, should I still consider 么 and 幺 as recognized alternative "spellings"?    Also, are you saying that 么 is THE weird way to write 幺?  
> **username_5**: As far as standards go there is only one per each governed region that uses chinese in the world ((mainland, macau, taiwan, hk, malaysia, etc)).  Same as usa, uk, australia, etc.  It is totally possible to see all sorts of other unofficial variations within each area, but you will never be wrong using the official choice.  Yes, 么 for 幺 is weird typing on a computer.  In handwriting you can't tell the difference between them usually so its moot.  
> **username_0**: So from the feedback here and reading other sites, Im summarising that for "yao" both 么 and 幺 can be used (but 幺 is more common in mainland). However using "me","ma" or "mo" always has to be 么. Have I got that correct?  
> **username_5**: @username_0 My personal summary based on general use: In handriting its moot.  In typing its rare to interchange at all, but 么 for 幺 in the scenario you list is far far rarer than 幺 for 么-- very possibly a simple typo or unique to a small area//nonstandard education.  Please be aware that 么 as a surname is pronounced as yāo, completely  unrelated to this discussion example but maybe muddying your search.  
> **username_0**: "么 for 幺 in the scenario you list is far far rarer than 幺 for 么" — does this mean, in your experince, people are using 幺 instead for shenme 什么 (what?) . Btw I Would upvote if i had the reputation.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2024-08-18. Score: 1

么(同“幺”) - 一的別稱. 如：「么二三……。」. 《康熙字典》【韻會】俗幺字。See <https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E4%B9%88>

幺 -「么 」的异体字。See <https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E5%B9%BA>

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: on that page --同“幺” means "same as."..?  I cant reead most of the characters on the page but ma  ㄇㄚ;  me  ㄇㄜ  I have never seen those before.  Then further down the page it has (2) 另见 yāo;mó;ma...so it can also be mó? Appreciate the link but are you able to explain these things? thx  
> **username_4**: "么"同(the same as)“幺”. Some Chinese words have more than one meaning/use, in this case, "么" was used to be the same as "吗" and "嘛” (no longer the case now), and it is the simplified word of "麽".  "mó" is a typo of "me".  
> **username_0**: when you say "mó" is a typo of "me" do you mean it's incorrect or a typo is where it originally came from and is now accepted? (like the "all blacks")  
> **username_4**: I made a mistake by saying it was a typo. The correct interpretation should be "么(me). For other meanings/use, see entries under 么 pronounced as  yāo, mó, and ma."  
> **username_4**: A quick summary: 么(yāo) = 幺(yāo) = the number "1"; the youngest(老么; 么ㄦ/弟/妹/叔/姨). 么 is also the simplified form of the traditional character - "麽", which has the pronunciation of "mó", "me" and "ma". Hope this helps.  

---

