There is an interesting story laying behind Chinese characters like other languages,such as ma hu.

有一个有趣的故事隐藏在汉字像其他语言，如马虎。

A painter drew an animal which looked like a horse and a tiger.

画家画了一个看起来像马和老虎的动物。

He told his first son that it was a tiger.

他告诉大儿子那是只老虎。

The older son identified a horse as a tiger and killed it.

大儿子认出一匹马是老虎，就把它杀了。

He told his second son it was a horse.

他告诉二儿子那是匹马。

The younger boy identified a tiger as a horse and try to ride on it.

小男孩认出老虎是马，想骑在上面。

Therefore,his first son owed a horse to its master and his second son came within an inch of death.

因此，他的大儿子欠了主人一匹马，而他的第二个儿子离死亡只有一尺之遥。

From then on,ma hu has been used to describe carelessness.

从那时起，马虎就被用来形容粗心大意。