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sān — “three”

How to write and say the Chinese character (sān), which means three — with stroke order, audio, its story, and an example sentence. Theme: Numbers & counting.

Pinyin · 拼音 sān
Meaning · 意思 three
Strokes · 笔画 3
Radical · 部首 (one)
Hear it · 听发音
Watch it drawn stroke by stroke →

Stroke order笔顺

三 is written with 3 strokes, in this order (the red stroke is the one being added):

The story behind it字源小故事

Picture it: three parallel lines; compare 一 (one) and 二 (two).

A common word常用词

sān

three of them

Example sentence例句

jiāyǒusānkǒurén

There are three people in my family.

This page is part of the free Chinese character explorer from Casey Foundation Chinese School — a Saturday community Chinese school in Narre Warren, Victoria, serving Berwick, Cranbourne, Hallam and families across Melbourne's southeast. New students get a free trial lesson.