汕 (shàn): bamboo fish trap, used in names of places connected with Shantou 汕頭|汕头

汕 (shàn) is a Chinese character meaning “bamboo fish trap.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (semantic) and 山 (phonetic). It ranks #5346 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 汕 water. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 河 (hé, river), 海 (hǎi, sea), 洋 (yáng, ocean).

Spoken pronunciation

Radical: 氵 water6 strokesFrequency #5346氵 semantic 山 phonetic

Definitions

bamboo fish trap
used in names of places connected with Shantou 汕頭|汕头

Etymology & Origin

汕

pictophoneticwater

Decomposition: ⿰氵山 (layout: left-right)

Components:氵semantic 山phonetic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 汕 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
汕头大学	shàn tóu dà xué	Shantou University
汕头市	shàn tóu shì	Shantou, prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province 廣東省\|广东省
潮汕话noun	cháo shàn huà	Chaoshan or Teo-Swa, a Southern Min language spoken by the Teochew people of the Chaoshan region 潮汕
汕尾市	shàn wěi shì	Shanwei, prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province 廣東省\|广东省
汕头	shàn tóu	see 汕頭市\|汕头市
汕尾proper-noun	shàn wěi	see 汕尾市
潮汕proper-noun	cháo shàn	Chaoshan, region in the east of Guangdong, encompassing the cities of Chaozhou 潮州市 and Shantou 汕頭市\|...

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

汕 appears in 7 compound words: 71 as the first character, 14 as the last, and 14 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 汕 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

潮cháo

0.53812 co-occurrences

Example Sentences

中国新闻网·体育Sep 2026

当晚，深圳队主场以总比分3:0击败汕尾队。

dāng wǎn , shēn zhèn duì zhǔ chǎng yǐ zǒng bǐ fēn 3 : 0 jī bài shàn wěi duì .

That evening, the Shenzhen team defeated the Shanwei team 3–0 in the series at home.

中国新闻网·体育Sep 2026

广东省足球协会供图当晚，深圳队客场以2:0击败汕尾队。

guǎng dōng shěng zú qiú xié huì gōng tú dāng wǎn , shēn zhèn duì kè chǎng yǐ 2 : 0 jī bài shàn wěi duì .

Photo courtesy of the Guangdong Provincial Football Association. That evening, the Shenzhen team defeated the Shanwei team 2–0 on the road.

中国新闻网·文化Sep 2026

《给阿嬷的情书》扎根潮汕地域文化，讲述守望相助的动人故事。

gěi ā mó de qíng shū zhā gēn cháo shàn dì yù wén huà , jiǎng shù shǒu wàng xiāng zhù de dòng rén gù shì .

"Love Letters to Grandma" is rooted in the regional culture of Chaoshan and tells a touching story of mutual support.

中国新闻网·体育Aug 2026

“粤超”八强附加赛收官茂名佛山汕尾东莞晋级

yuè chāo bā qiáng fù jiā sài shōu guān mào míng fó shān shàn wěi dōng guǎn jìn jí

“Guangdong Super League” Quarterfinal Playoffs Conclude; Maoming, Foshan, Shanwei, and Dongguan Advance

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

这部潮汕方言片让不少北方观众也泪流满面。

zhè bù cháo shàn fāng yán piàn ràng bù shǎo běi fāng guān zhòng yě lèi liú mǎn miàn .

This film, shot in the Chaoshan dialect, brought many viewers from northern China to tears.

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 氵 (water) component

没méi 活huó 海hǎi 清qīng 消xiāo 流liú 满mǎn 注zhù 激jī 洛luò

Related Characters

河hé 海hǎi 洋yáng 江jiāng 湖hú 溪xī 流liú 池chí 汤tāng 汁zhī

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 汕 (shàn) mean in Chinese?

汕 (shàn) primarily means "bamboo fish trap." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #5346 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 汕 and 仙?

汕 (shàn) and 仙 (xiān) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 氵 vs 亻 (same 山 component).

How many strokes does 汕 have?

汕 is written with 6 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 汕?

The radical associated with 汕 is 氵 (water). This radical appears in many characters related to water.

What are the components of 汕?

汕 is composed of: 氵 (semantic), 山 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰氵山 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 汕?

Common words with 汕 include: 汕头大学 (shàn tóu dà xué, "Shantou University"); 汕头市 (shàn tóu shì, "Shantou, prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province 廣東省|广东省"); 潮汕话 (cháo shàn huà, "Chaoshan or Teo-Swa, a Southern Min language spoken by the Teochew people of the Chaoshan region 潮汕"); 汕尾市 (shàn wěi shì, "Shanwei, prefecture-level city in Guangdong Province 廣東省|广东省"); 汕头 (shàn tóu, "see 汕頭市|汕头市"). There are over 7 compound words containing this character.

Is 汕 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 汕 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 汕 with real-time feedback

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