sān
number #14,478

Meanings

  1. 1 three (banker's anti-fraud numeral)

Examples

HSK 4
Dàxiě shùzì yòng sān dàitì sān.
The formal numeral 叁 is used in place of 三.
HSK 7-9
Zhīpiào shàng xiě de shì sān wàn yuán zhěng.
The check was written for thirty thousand yuan.

Tips

usage
One of the Chinese anti-fraud numerals 大写数字 used on checks, invoices, and financial documents. replaces because the simple character can easily be altered (e.g., adding strokes to forge a different number). Full set: 壹贰叁肆伍陆柒捌玖拾.

Components

radical
private; small enclosure
The at the top is the indexing Kangxi radical for (formal accounting variant of 'three'). It functions purely as a lookup anchor here, not as a semantic contributor - the elaborate formal numeral was built to make forgery-proof financial documents.
semantic
big; outstretched person
The in the middle was added to the simple to bulk out the graph and prevent forgery - an extra stroke to a casual could turn it into or , so the formal variant inserts as a tamper-proof body.
semantic
sān
three
The at the bottom carries the actual numeric meaning. is the 大写 (formal accounting form) of , used on cheques and contracts where the simple three-stroke could be tampered with by adding strokes to become other digits.

Stroke Order

sān