TraceHanzi

杉 meaning and stroke order

shān

Various species of pine and fir

7 strokesRadical 木
Strokes7
Pinyinshān
ToneTone 1
Frequency#1,787
Printable worksheet

How to write 杉, stroke by stroke

7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
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  6. 6
  7. 7

Meaning of 杉

Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.

shānfirst tone (high and level)
  1. China fir
  2. Cunninghamia lanceolata
  3. also pr. [sha1]

How 杉 is built

Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Tree.

mùtree+shānhair

木 gives the meaning and 彡 hints at the sound.

Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.

How to remember 杉

杉 (shān) puts 木 (tree) beside 彡, three slanted strokes that also give the sound shān. Picture a tree with long, needle-like strokes hanging from its side, like a fir.

杉 most often means the China fir, a common timber tree in southern China. It appears in tree and wood names such as 杉树 (shānshù, fir tree) and 杉木 (shānmù, fir wood). Example: 这张桌子是杉木做的。(Zhè zhāng zhuōzi shì shānmù zuò de.) This table is made of fir wood.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 杉 with 衫 (shān, shirt), which has the same sound and the same 彡 part. Remember that 杉 has 木 for wood, and 衫 has 衤 for clothing.

杉 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

他tā登dēng上shàng了le前qián往wǎng洛luò杉shān矶jī的de飞fēi机jī。
He boarded a plane bound for Los Angeles.
他tā中zhōng途tú在zài洛luò杉shān矶jī和hé芝zhī加jiā哥gē停tíng留liú。
He stopped over at Los Angeles and Chicago.
我wǒ应yīng该gāi取qǔ消xiāo我wǒ到dào洛luò杉shān矶jī的de旅lǚ行xíng。
I should cancel my L.A. trip.
我wǒ比bǐ较jiào喜xǐ欢huān洛luò杉shān矶jī。
I like L.A. better.
洛luò杉shān矶jī是shì我wǒ想xiǎng去qù的de其qí中zhōng一yí个gè地dì方fāng。
Los Angeles is one of the places that I'd like to visit.

Questions about 杉

How many strokes are in 杉?

杉 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.

What does 杉 mean?

杉 (shān) means various species of pine and fir.

How do you pronounce 杉?

杉 is pronounced shān, in the first tone (high and level).

What is the radical of 杉?

The radical of 杉 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 杉 under this radical.

Why does the dictionary say 杉 is also pronounced sha1?

The dictionary notes that 杉 is also pronounced shā. You may hear shā in some spoken or regional usage, especially in words like 杉木, but shān is the standard reading to learn first.

Is 杉 the same as 松 (sōng, pine)?

No. 松 is the general word for pine. 杉 refers mainly to the China fir, Cunninghamia lanceolata, and it also appears in names of some other conifers.