散 (sǎn): loose; scattered; unbound

Meanings

1 loose; scattered; unbound
2 leisurely; relaxed; idle
3 powdered medicine (in TCM names)

Characters

散

sǎn

loose; scattered; unbound

Examples

我更喜欢散茶，不喜欢茶饼。

Wǒ gèng xǐhuan sǎnchá, bù xǐhuan chábǐng.

I prefer loose-leaf tea to compressed tea cakes.

散文比诗歌更自由。

Sǎnwén bǐ shīgē gèng zìyóu.

Prose is a freer literary form than poetry.

他的工作作风太散漫了。

Tā de gōngzuò zuòfēng tài sǎnmàn le.

His work style is too undisciplined.

Tips

usage

Read 散 (third tone) when the meaning is the STATE of being loose, scattered, or unbound — i.e. when 散 acts as an adjective or noun, not a verb. Core list: 散文 (prose — 'loose, unbound writing' as opposed to verse), 散漫 (undisciplined), 懒散 (slack), 松散 (loose), 闲散 (leisurely), 零散 (fragmented), 散户 (retail investor), 散打 (sanda, Chinese kickboxing), 散光 (astigmatism), 散粉 (loose makeup powder), 散茶 (loose-leaf tea).

mistakes

Beware 散步 — 'take a walk' is sàn, NOT sǎn, because the focus is on the action of strolling-and-dispersing, not on a loose state. Same with 散心 (relieve boredom by dispersing one's worries). Verb sense → sàn; adjective/noun sense → sǎn.

Components

radical

攵 pū

tap; strike (radical form)

Right strike radical — the indexing component, side-form of 攴. Pictures a hand swinging a stick. Combined with the torn-flesh element on the left, the picture is a blow that breaks something into scattered pieces — the core image of 'to scatter, disperse.'

semantic

⺼ ròu

flesh; meat (radical form)

Left side fuses an obscure top element with the meat-flesh radical ⺼ underneath. Traditional analysis: torn pieces of flesh — the top etymon and lower ⺼ together depict meat being pulled apart. Modern strokes have fused them into a single 8-stroke unit; standalone ⺼ is only 4 strokes.