珊 meaning and stroke order
Coral
How to write 珊, stroke by stroke
9 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
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- 9
Meaning of 珊
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- coral
How 珊 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Jade.
王 gives the meaning and 册 hints at the sound.
Radical: 王 (king), shared by 104 characters on this site.
How to remember 珊
The left side 王 is the jade radical, used for precious stones and gems. The right side 册 (cè, a book of bamboo slips) gives the sound, so picture a stack of pinkish 'jade' branches lined up like bamboo slips: coral.
珊 almost never appears alone. It shows up in 珊瑚 (shānhú, coral) and related words, and it is also a common character in girls' names, like 珊珊 (Shānshān). Example: 海里有很多珊瑚。(Hǎi lǐ yǒu hěn duō shānhú.) There is a lot of coral in the sea.
Common mistake: Learners often read 珊 as cè because of the 册 on the right, but the correct reading is shān, first tone. Also do not confuse it with 删 (shān, to delete), which has the same sound but uses the knife radical 刂 instead of 王.
Common words with 珊
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
珊 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 珊
How many strokes are in 珊?
珊 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 珊 mean?
珊 (shān) means coral. A common word with it is 珊瑚 (shānhú), meaning "coral".
How do you pronounce 珊?
珊 is pronounced shān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 珊?
The radical of 珊 is 王, which carries the idea of "king". Dictionaries list 珊 under this radical.
Why does 珊 have the 王 (king) component if it means coral?
On the left side of a character, 王 usually stands for 玉 (yù, jade), not 'king'. Characters for gems and precious materials often use it, and coral was treated as a precious material.
What does 珊珊 or 姗姗 mean in phrases like 姗姗来迟?
姗姗来迟 (shānshān lái chí) means to arrive late at a slow, leisurely pace, and it is usually written with 姗, the woman radical. 珊珊 by itself is mostly seen as a given name, so check which character a phrase uses.