滩 (tān): beach, shoal, rapids
滩 (tān) is a Chinese character meaning “beach.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 氵 (structural) and 难 (structural). It ranks #2030 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 滩 difficult 难 waters 氵 to navigate; 难 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 氵 (water) appears in many related characters such as 水 (shuǐ, water), 汉 (hàn, Han ethnic group), 汽 (qì, steam).
Definitions
- beach
- shoal
- rapids
Etymology & Origin
ideographicDifficult 难 waters 氵 to navigate; 难 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰氵难 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 滩 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 海滩 | hǎi tān | beach |
| 沙滩 | shā tān | beach |
| 滩头 | tān tóu | beach |
| 浅滩 | qiǎn tān | shallows |
| 河滩 | hé tān | river bank |
| 抢滩 | qiǎng tān | to make an amphibious assault |
| 戈壁滩 | gē bì tān | Gobi desert |
| 滩涂 | tān tú | mudflat |
| 盐滩 | yán tān | salt flats |
| 冷水滩区 | lěng shuǐ tān qū | Lengshuitan, a district of Yongzhou City 永州市[Yong3 zhou1 Shi4], Hunan |
| 冷水滩 | lěng shuǐ tān | see 冷水灘區|冷水滩区[Leng3 shui3 tan1 Qu1] |
| 沙滩排球 | shā tān pái qiú | beach volleyball |
| 外滩 | wài tān | the Bund, a waterfront promenade in central Shanghai, running along the western bank of the Huangpu River |
| 白碱滩区 | bái jiǎn tān qū | Baijiantan District of Karamay City 克拉瑪依市|克拉玛依市[Ke4 la1 ma3 yi1 Shi4], Xinjiang |
| 滩头堡 | tān tóu bǎo | beachhead (military) |
滩 appears in 25 compound words: 12 as the first character, 68 as the last, and 20 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 滩 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
清晨的滩面波光粼粼，倒映着岸边的柳树。
qīng chén de tān miàn bō guāng 粼 粼 , dǎo yìng zhe àn biān de liǔ shù .
The morning beach glistened with ripples, reflecting the willow trees along the shore.
前港姐旅游叹阳光与海滩百变水着大解放 蕾丝泳衣晒玲珑有致身材
qián gǎng jiě lǚ yóu tàn yáng guāng yǔ hǎi tān bǎi biàn shuǐ zhe dà jiě fàng lěi sī yǒng yī shài 玲 珑 yǒu zhì shēn cái
Former Hong Kong sister travel sighs at the sun and beach, the ever-changing swimsuit is liberated, the lace swimsuit is exquisite, and the figure is exquisite
赤潮过后 南非海滩遍布死龙虾
chì cháo guò hòu nán fēi hǎi tān biàn bù sǐ lóng xiā
After the red tide South African beaches are full of dead lobsters
内地品牌抢滩 星洲餐饮掀倒闭潮 早年越洋落户港厨 依...
nèi dì pǐn pái qiǎng tān xīng zhōu cān yǐn xiān dǎo bì cháo zǎo nián yuè yáng luò hù gǎng chú yī . . .
Mainland brands grab the beach, Sin Chew Catering set off a wave of closures, crossed the ocean to settle in Hong Kong kitchens in the early years...
【城事】外滩开关式人墙再次启用,分流客流确保平台上....
chéng shì wài tān kāi guān shì rén qiáng zài cì qǐ yòng , fēn liú kè liú què bǎo píng tái shàng . . . .
The Bund switch wall was reopened to divert passenger flow to ensure that it was on the platform....
上海首波大客流已抵达!外滩、南京路、豫园......客流量..
shàng hǎi shǒu bō dà kè liú yǐ dǐ dá ! wài tān , nán jīng lù , yù yuán . . . . . . kè liú liàng . .
Shanghai's first wave of large passenger flow has arrived! The Bund, Nanjing Road, Yu Garden...... Passenger flow:
海滩上你到底愿意去吗？
Hǎitān shàng nǐ dàodǐ yuànyì qù ma?
Are you willing to go to the beach?
这辆公车去海滩吗？
Zhè liàng gōngchē qù hǎitān ma?
Does this bus go to the beach?
你能听到沙滩上海浪的声音吗？
Nǐ néng tīngdào shātān Shànghǎi làng de shēngyīn ma?
Can you hear the noise of the waves on the beach?
从这里到海滩该怎么走？
Cóng zhèlǐ dào hǎitān gāi zěnme zǒu?
How do I get to the beach from here?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 滩 (tān) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 滩 have?
What is the radical of 滩?
What are the components of 滩?
What are common words containing 滩?
What characters sound the same as 滩 (tān)?
Is 滩 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 滩 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.