善 (shàn): good (virtuous), benevolent, well-disposed
善 (shàn) is a Chinese character meaning “good (virtuous).” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 羊 (structural), 丷 (structural), 一 (structural) and 口 (structural). It ranks #749 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 善 to give someone food 羊 and conversation 口. Its radical form 口 (mouth) appears in many related characters such as 口 (kǒu, mouth), 叫 (jiào, to call, to be called), 右 (yòu, (bound form) right).
Definitions
- good (virtuous)
- benevolent
- well-disposed
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo give someone food 羊 and conversation 口
Decomposition: ⿱羊⿱⿱丷一口 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 善 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 善
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 善良adjective | shàn liáng | good and honest | 5 |
| 善于verb | shàn yú | to be good at | 5 |
| 改善verb | gǎi shàn | to make better | 5 |
| 完善adjective/verb | wán shàn | (of systems, facilities etc) comprehensive | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 慈善adjective | cí shàn | benevolent |
| 友善adjective | yǒu shàn | friendly |
| 善事noun | shàn shì | good deeds |
| 善意noun | shàn yì | goodwill |
| 和善adjective | hé shàn | good-natured |
| 慈善家noun | cí shàn jiā | philanthropist |
| 伪善adjective | wěi shàn | hypocritical |
| 善心noun | shàn xīn | kindness |
| 善解人意phrase | shàn jiě rén yì | to be good at understanding others (idiom) |
| 妥善adjective | tuǒ shàn | appropriate |
| 善后verb | shàn hòu | to deal with the aftermath (arising from an accident) |
| 善待verb | shàn dài | to treat well |
| 善恶noun | shàn è | good and evil |
| 行善verb | xíng shàn | to do good works |
| 善举noun | shàn jǔ | meritorious deed |
善 appears in 100 compound words: 41 as the first character, 30 as the last, and 29 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 善 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (42)
Showing 12 of 42 idioms containing 善.
Example Sentences
善良的人总是乐于助人，不计回报。
Shànliáng de rén zǒngshì lèyú zhùrén, bù jì huíbào.
Kind people are always willing to help others without expecting anything in return.
...团商家参与百家米活动 8受惠单位获逾2万善款
. . . tuán shāng jiā cān yǔ bǎi jiā mǐ huó dòng shòu huì dān wèi huò yú wàn shàn kuǎn
...Businesses Join the "Hundred Rice" Initiative 8 Beneficiary Organizations Receive Over 20,000 in Donations
開工就行善!台南做工行善團赴關廟會勘 啟動新春首場...
開 gōng jiù háng shàn ! tái nán zuò gōng háng shàn 團 fù 關 廟 會 kān 啟 動 xīn chūn shǒu 場 . . .
Doing Good Starts with Work! Tainan Work-and-Charity Group Inspects Guanmiao for First New Year Event...
春節家暴通報暴增 遇家庭衝突、善用113求助
chūn 節 jiā bào tōng 報 bào zēng yù jiā tíng 衝 tū shàn yòng qiú zhù
Domestic Violence Reports Surge During Spring Festival If You Experience Family Conflict, Call 113 for Help
改善碼頭計劃涵蓋23個公眾碼頭 其中10個完...
gǎi shàn 碼 頭 計 劃 hán 蓋 個 gōng 眾 碼 頭 qí zhōng 個 wán . . .
The Pier Improvement Program covers 23 public piers, with 10 of them completed...
...魚潭遭中央切割」 傅崐萁:民進黨政府不改善也不道歉
. . . 魚 tán zāo zhōng yāng qiē gē fù 崐 萁 mín 進 黨 zhèng fǔ bù gǎi shàn yě bù dào qiàn
...Central Government Cuts Off Yutan Reservoir" Fu Kun-chi: DPP Government Neither Improves Nor Apologizes
...難導遊被罵翻 達人曝:「這幾國」素食超友善
. . . 難 導 遊 bèi 罵 fān 達 rén pù 這 幾 國 sù shí chāo yǒu shàn
...Tour Guides Face Backlash as Experts Reveal: "These Countries" Are Super Vegan-Friendly
情况正在改善，所以振作起来！
Qíngkuàng zhèngzài gǎishàn, suǒyǐ zhènzuò qǐlai!
The situation is improving, so cheer up!
你需要区分善与恶。
Nǐ xūyào qūfēn shàn yǔ è.
You should distinguish between right and wrong.
善良是聋子能听盲人能看的语言。
Shànliáng shì lóngzi néng tīng mángrén néng kàn de yǔyán.
Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 善 (shàn)?
Is 善 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 善 with real-time feedback
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