# 馬腳
## Chinese
### Etymology

First attested in works written in Yuan dynasty. In folk etymology, this term is attributed to Empress Ma, the first queen of Ming dynasty, who did not have her feet bound because she originated from a peasant family, contrary to upper-class women at that time.

### Pronunciation

* Mandarin
    (Pinyin): mǎjiǎo
    (Zhuyin): ㄇㄚˇ ㄐㄧㄠˇ
* Cantonese (Jyutping): maa$^5$ goek$^3$
* Hakka
    (Sixian, PFS): mâ-kiok
    (Meixian, Guangdong): ma$^1$ giog$^5$
* Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): bé-kha / bée-kha
* Mandarin
** (Standard Chinese)
*** Hanyu Pinyin: mǎjiǎo [Phonetic: májiǎo]
*** Zhuyin: ㄇㄚˇ ㄐㄧㄠˇ
*** Tongyong Pinyin: mǎjiǎo
*** Wade–Giles: ma$^3$-chiao$^3$
*** Yale: mǎ-jyǎu
*** Gwoyeu Romatzyh: maajeau
*** Palladius: мацзяо (maczjao)
*** Sinological IPA : /mä²¹⁴⁻³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
* Cantonese
** (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
*** Jyutping: maa$^5$ goek$^3$
*** Yale: máh geuk
*** Cantonese Pinyin: maa$^5$ goek$^8$
*** Guangdong Romanization: ma$^5$ gêg$^3$
*** Sinological IPA : /maː¹³ kœːk̚³/
* Hakka
** (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
*** Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: mâ-kiok
*** Hakka Romanization System: ma$^ˊ$ giog$^ˋ$
*** Hagfa Pinyim: ma$^1$ giog$^5$
*** Sinological IPA: /ma²⁴ ki̯ok̚²/
** (Meixian)
*** Guangdong: ma$^1$ giog$^5$
*** Sinological IPA: /ma⁴⁴⁻³⁵ kiɔk̚¹/
* Southern Min
** (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, General Taiwanese)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bé-kha
*** Tâi-lô: bé-kha
*** Phofsit Daibuun: befqaf
*** IPA (Xiamen, Taipei): /be⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kʰa⁴⁴/
*** IPA (Kaohsiung): /be⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ kʰa⁴⁴/
*** IPA (Quanzhou): /be⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ kʰa³³/
** (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
*** Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bée-kha
*** Tâi-lô: bée-kha
*** IPA (Zhangzhou): /bɛ⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kʰa⁴⁴/
* Middle Chinese: maeX kjak
Rime :
| Character | 馬 | 腳 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 明 (4) | 見 (28) |
| Final (韻) | 麻 (98) | 藥 (107) |
| Tone (調) | Rising (X) | Checked (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open | Open |
| Division (等) | II | III |
| Fanqie | 莫下切 | 居勺切 |
| Baxter | maeX | kjak |
| Reconstructions |||
| Zhengzhang Shangfang | /mˠa$^X$/ | /kɨɐk̚/ |
| Pan Wuyun | /mᵚa$^X$/ | /kiɐk̚/ |
| Shao Rongfen | /ma$^X$/ | /kiɑk̚/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank | /maɨ$^X$/ | /kɨak̚/ |
| Li Rong | /ma$^X$/ | /kiak̚/ |
| Wang Li | /ma$^X$/ | /kĭak̚/ |
| Bernard Karlgren | /ma$^X$/ | /ki̯ak̚/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex | mǎ | jue |
| Expected Cantonese Reflex | maa$^5$ | goek$^3$ |
* Old Chinese
    (Baxter–Sagart): /*mˤraʔ [k]ak/
    (Zhengzhang): /*mraːʔ kaɡ/
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014) :
| Character | 馬 | 腳 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) | mǎ | jiǎo |
| Middle Chinese | ‹ mæ$^X$ › | ‹ kjak › |
| Old Chinese | /*mˁraʔ/ | /*[k]ak/ |
| English | horse | leg, foot |
| Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary. |||
Zhengzhang system (2003) :
| Character | 馬 | 腳 |
| Reading # | 1/1 | 1/1 |
| No. | 8715 | 10737 |
| Phonetic component | 馬 | 郤 |
| Rime group | 魚 | 鐸 |
| Rime subdivision | 0 | 0 |
| Corresponding MC rime | 馬 | 腳 |
| Old Chinese | /*mraːʔ/ | /*kaɡ/ |

### Noun

馬腳
* horse's feet
* (figurative) cloven foot; something that gives the game away; mistake or gap in a speech or theory; flaw
       Tā zhuāng Yīngguórén, dàn tā de kǒuyīn ràng tā lòu le mǎjiǎo. [Pinyin]
       He pretended to be British, but his foreign accent gave him away.

#### Synonyms

* (cloven foot): 漏洞 (lòudòng), 破綻／破绽 (pòzhàn), (Hokkien) 龜跤／龟跤

#### Derived terms

* 不露馬腳／不露马脚
* 走了馬腳／走了马脚
* 露出馬腳／露出马脚 (lòuchū mǎjiǎo)
* 露馬腳／露马脚 (lòumǎjiǎo)
* 馬屁拍在馬腳上／马屁拍在马脚上

#### Descendants

* → Japanese: 馬脚(ばきゃく) (bakyaku)
* → Korean: 마각(馬腳) (magak)
* → Vietnamese: mã cước (馬腳)

## Japanese

Kanji in this term :
| 馬 | 腳 |
| Grade: 2 | Hyōgai |
* For pronunciation and definitions of 馬腳 – see the following entry: 馬脚
(The following entry is uncreated: 馬脚.)