Chinese symbol for “sesame”
芝麻
zhī ma
sesame (seed)
The closest CC-CEDICT match for sesame is 芝麻 (zhī ma), defined as: sesame (seed).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “sesame”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 胡麻 | hú má | sesame; (botany) flax |
| 麻 | má | generic name for hemp, flax etc; hemp or flax fiber for textile materials |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 芝麻.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 芝士 | zhī shì | (loanword) cheese |
| 灵芝 (靈芝) | líng zhī | lingzhi or reishi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) |
| 芝麻油 | zhī ma yóu | sesame oil |
| 芝麻官 | zhī ma guān | low ranking official; petty bureaucrat |
| 芝麻酱 (芝麻醬) | zhī ma jiàng | sesame paste |
| 麻烦 (麻煩) | má fan | trouble; inconvenience; inconvenient; troublesome; annoying |
| 大麻 | dà má | hemp (Cannabis sativa); cannabis |
| 麻将 (麻將) | má jiàng | mahjong; measure word: 局 (jú), 副 (fù) |
See also: Japanese symbol for “sesame”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.