The kanji 摩 (ma) primarily conveys the idea of rubbing, grinding, or polishing. It implies a process of friction or contact that smooths, diminishes, or alters a surface or substance. This can extend to the figurative sense of touching or coming into contact with something, and also in the context of getting close to someone.

・On-yomi (音読み): マ (ma) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): す（る） (su(ru)) - to rub, to polish

⚫︎摩擦 Translation: Friction ⚫︎摩擦力 Translation: Frictional force ⚫︎摩天楼 Translation: Skyscraper (literally, "rubbing the sky building")

The kanji 摩 is a 形声文字 (keisei moji), a phonetic-semantic compound character. The left side is the radical 手 (te), which means "hand." The right side is the phonetic component, 麻 (ma), which represents the sound and suggests hemp fiber. The whole character therefore implies using one's hand to rub or grind something like hemp. This character evolved from earlier forms that also featured the hand radical, further emphasizing the action of rubbing.