三

sān

Pinyin
sān
Pinyin (Plain)
san
Tone
1
Strokes
3
Radical
一
Readings
sānsanTone: 1surname SanOrder: 0Primary
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 326 667 Q 283 663 312 640 Q 369 610 428 623 Q 543 641 665 661 Q 720 671 729 678 Q 739 688 735 698 Q 728 711 693 722 Q 660 731 561 701 Q 420 673 326 667 Z", "M 329 421 Q 304 417 332 392 Q 348 379 385 383 Q 557 405 685 416 Q 721 420 709 440 Q 694 462 657 472 Q 621 479 558 466 Q 435 441 329 421 Z", "M 130 165 Q 102 162 122 139 Q 140 120 163 113 Q 191 104 212 110 Q 515 179 929 157 Q 930 158 933 157 Q 960 156 967 167 Q 974 183 953 201 Q 884 255 835 246 Q 643 210 130 165 Z"]
Meaning
The Chinese character “三” (sān) is the number three and is used to count or indicate the quantity “3.” It can also appear in set phrases or compounds to suggest “several” or “a few,” but its core meaning is always the numeral three.
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 3/24/2026, 7:17:55 PM

Usage

The character **三** literally means “three” and is one of the first characters learners meet. Its most basic use is as the number 3 in counting, dates, and quantities: for example, 三个苹果 (three apples), 三点 (three o’clock), 三月 (March), or 三天 (three days). It also appears in simple phrases like 数到三 (“count to three”) and is often used in beginner lessons to practice stroke order because it’s written as three horizontal lines. Beyond counting, 三 appears in many common set expressions and words where “three” adds a fixed or idiomatic sense. Examples include 三明治 (sandwich, a phonetic loan), 三角形 (triangle), and 三国 (Three Kingdoms, a famous historical period). It also forms part of everyday compound words and names that learners quickly recognize in textbooks, such as 三轮车 (three-wheeled cart/rickshaw) or phrases like 三年级 (third grade). In these cases, the meaning usually remains very close to the idea of “three.”

Handwriting Notes

In handwriting, 三 is a very simple character made of three roughly horizontal lines stacked from top to bottom. In careful writing, the top stroke is usually the shortest, the bottom stroke the longest, and the middle one in between, creating a slightly tapered, balanced look rather than three identical lines. The strokes are normally parallel and gently curved rather than perfectly straight, and the spacing between them is fairly even so the character doesn’t look cramped or stretched. Handwritten forms can vary in how straight, curved, or slanted the lines are, how much their lengths differ, and how much pressure or “thickness” changes along each stroke. Some writers make the lines almost equal length, some write with a noticeable upward or downward tilt, and some write very quickly so the lines look more like casual dashes. Despite this variation, the “three parallel horizontals” pattern is visually distinctive, and AI handwriting recognition systems—such as those in handwriting-input keyboards and OCR tools—are trained to detect this pattern and distinguish 三 from similar shapes and from random marks or underlines.

Description

三 is a Chinese character meaning “three.” It is commonly used for counting, dates, and numbers (e.g., 三天 “three days,” 三月 “March”). It is pronounced sān in Mandarin.

Common Words

  • 三人行sān rén xíngthree people walking together (often from the saying 三人行，必有我师焉: among any three people, one can be my teacher)
  • 三明治sān míng zhìsandwich
  • 三角形sān jiǎo xíngtriangle
  • 三角洲sān jiǎo zhōudelta (of a river)
  • 三维sān wéithree-dimensional; 3D
  • 三岁sān suìthree years old
  • 三天sān tiānthree days
  • 三年级sān nián jíthird grade; third year (in school)
  • 三月sān yuèMarch (the third month)
  • 三角裤sān jiǎo kùbriefs; underpants
  • 三国Sān Guóthe Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history
  • 三国演义Sān Guó Yǎn YìRomance of the Three Kingdoms (classic Chinese novel)
  • 三文鱼sān wén yúsalmon
  • 三轮车sān lún chētricycle; three-wheeler; pedicab
  • 三明治店sān míng zhì diànsandwich shop
  • 三角关系sān jiǎo guān xìlove triangle; triangular relationship
  • 三线城市sān xiàn chéng shìthird‑tier city
  • 三等奖sān děng jiǎngthird prize
  • 三班sān bānClass Three (in a grade)
  • 三代同堂sān dài tóng tángthree generations living under one roof
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