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善

shàn
adjective HSK 7-9 #3,139

Meanings

  1. 1 good; virtuous; kind
  2. 2 to be good at; skilled in
  3. 3 to do well; properly

Examples

HSK 4
善意的提醒。
Shànyì de tíxǐng.
A well-intentioned reminder.
HSK 5
她心地善良。
Tā xīndì shànliáng.
She is kind-hearted.
HSK 6
他善于交际。
Tā shànyú jiāojì.
He is good at socializing.

Tips

usage
善 is used in: 善良 (kind/good-natured), 善于 (good at), 善意 (goodwill), 改善 (to improve), 慈善 (charity), 友善 (friendly). It is one of the core moral values in Chinese philosophy.
culture
The opening of the Three Character Classic (三字经) states: 人之初，性本善 (At birth, human nature is inherently good) - reflecting Mencius's belief in innate human goodness, a cornerstone of Confucian thought.

Components

radical
口 kǒu
mouth; speech
Bottom mouth radical - the indexing component, here in a 6-stroke contracted form fused with the rest of the original 言 (speech). Standalone 口 is 3 strokes; the parent assigns 6 because the upper portion of 言 (丷+一) has merged graphically with the mouth below. Drives the "spoken kindness" meaning.
semantic
羊 yáng
sheep; goat
Top sheep - the auspicious animal, used in ancient ritual as a sacrificial offering of moral purity. Combined with the contracted 言 below, the original 善 was 譱 (two 言 framing 羊): "sheep-like speech" = pure, kindly words. Hence the bedrock sense of "good, virtuous, kind."

Stroke Order

善 shàn