闪 (shǎn): to flash, to dodge
闪 (shǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “to flash, to dodge.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 门 (structural) and 人 (structural). It ranks #1112 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 闪 a man 人 just glimpsed through a door 门. Its radical form 门 (gate) appears in many related characters such as 门 (mén, door, gate), 间 (jiān, room, between), 闭 (bì, to close).
Definitions
- to flash, to dodge
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA man 人 just glimpsed through a door 门
Decomposition: ⿵门人 (layout: surround-from-top)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 闪 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 闪
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 闪开 | shǎn kāi | to get out of the way |
| 闪亮 | shǎn liàng | brilliant |
| 闪耀 | shǎn yào | to glint |
| 闪光 | shǎn guāng | flash |
| 闪闪 | shǎn shǎn | flickering |
| 闪烁 | shǎn shuò | to glisten |
| 闪光灯 | shǎn guāng dēng | flash bulb (photography) |
| 闪现 | shǎn xiàn | to flash |
| 闪光点 | shǎn guāng diǎn | lit. flash point |
| 闪光弹 | shǎn guāng dàn | flashbang |
| 闪失 | shǎn shī | mishap |
| 躲闪 | duǒ shǎn | to evade |
| 闪动 | shǎn dòng | to flicker or flash |
| 亮闪闪 | liàng shǎn shǎn | bright |
| 电闪 | diàn shǎn | lightning flashes |
闪 appears in 73 compound words: 73 as the first character, 10 as the last, and 18 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 闪 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
闪电划破夜空，紧接着雷声轰鸣。
Shǎndiàn huápò yèkōng, jǐn jiē zhe léishēng hōngmíng.
Lightning pierced the night sky, followed by thunder.
南北大道闪避不及撞值勤交警 摩哆骑士伤重不治
nán běi dà dào shǎn bì bù jí zhuàng zhí qín jiāo jǐng mó duō qí shì shāng chóng bù zhì
The north-south avenue dodged and collided with the traffic police on duty Modo Knight was seriously injured and died
... Beurre House 3/11起快闪晶华!4大品项再掀韩流食尚风暴
. . . B e u r r e H o u s e 3 1 1 qǐ kuài shǎn jīng huá ! 4 dà pǐn xiàng zài xiān hán liú shí shàng fēng bào
... Beurre House starts on 3/11 with a pop-up Crystal! 4 major items have set off a storm of Korean Wave food fashion
西部数据计划出售部分闪迪股份,筹资31.7亿美元
xī bù shǔ jù jì huá chū shòu bù fēn shǎn dí gǔ fèn , chóu zī . yì měi yuán
Western Digital plans to sell some SanDisk shares to raise $3.17 billion
闪电评论|春晚机器人“天团”炸场,这股科技...
shǎn diàn píng lún chūn wǎn jī qì rén tiān tuán zhà chǎng , zhè gǔ kē jì . . .
The Spring Festival Gala Robotics Troupe is a new technology...
西部数据拟出售部分闪迪股份 筹资31.7亿美元用于..
xī bù shǔ jù nǐ chū shòu bù fēn shǎn dí gǔ fèn chóu zī . yì měi yuán yòng yú . .
Western Digital Plans to Sell Part of Its SanDisk Stake to Raise $3.17 Billion for...
她的眼睛闪烁着喜悦的光芒。
Tā de yǎnjing shǎnshuò zhe xǐyuè de guāngmáng.
Her eyes were shining with joy.
结冰的道路在阳光下闪闪发亮。
Jiébīng de dàolù zài yángguāng xià shǎnshǎn fāliàng.
The icy road sparkled in the sunlight.
一颗一颗的星星在空中闪闪发光。
Yī kē yī kē de xīngxing zài kōngzhōng shǎnshǎn fāguāng.
Many stars are twinkling in the sky.
汤姆被闪电击中过三次。
Tāngmǔ bèi shǎndiàn jīzhòng guo sāncì.
Tom has been struck by lightning three times.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 闪 (shǎn) mean in Chinese?
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What are common words containing 闪?
What characters sound the same as 闪 (shǎn)?
Is 闪 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 闪 with real-time feedback
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