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三

sān
number HSK 1 #233

Meanings

  1. 1 three

Characters

三
sān
three

Examples

我有三本书。
Wǒ yǒu sān běn shū.
I have three books.
三个人来了。
Sān gè rén lái le.
Three people came.

Tips

culture
三 is significant in Chinese philosophy: 三才 refers to the three powers — heaven, earth, and humanity.
history
The classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义) is one of China's four great classical novels.

Components

radical
一 yī
one
Top horizontal — also 三's indexing radical. The character is built up from three horizontal strokes, each one a 一.
semantic
一 yī
one
Middle horizontal — drawn slightly shorter for visual balance.
semantic
一 yī
one
Bottom horizontal — drawn longest, anchoring the stack. Three 一s = 三.

In Pop Culture

三国演义 Sānguó Yǎnyì
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
One of China's four great classical novels, set in the 3rd century.

Stroke Order

三 sān