shān
kangxi_radical

Meanings

  1. 1 bristles / decorative streaks radical (Kangxi #59)
  2. 2 indexing radical for characters about hair, light rays, or surface patterns

Tips

history
is three slanted strokes — used pictographically for tufts of hair, brush flourishes, beams of light, or any fine surface decoration. It almost never functions as a standalone word; even in classical texts it lives inside compounds.
usage
Look for on the right side of characters like (shape), (shadow), (must, also 'beard'), (color), (a surname). It signals appearance, surface texture, or radiance more often than literal hair.

Radical

Bristles Kangxi #59

Three slanted strokes drawn to suggest hair, decorative lines, or rays of light. As a radical it marks characters about appearance, pattern, or shine — (shape), (shadow), (color), (beard/must). Small but recognisable; gives a strong hint that the character involves visible surface qualities.

Used in

View all 11 →
Showing 6 of 11 · default form 彡
yǐng
shadow; image · film; photograph
xíng
form; shape; appearance
cǎi
color; colorful · applause; prize
must; have to; should · beard; whiskers; feeler
Péng
Peng (surname) · sound of drumming (onomatopoeia)
biāo
tiger stripes · ornate and brightly colored

Stroke Order

shān