砂 meaning and stroke order
Sand, pebbles, gravel; gritty
How to write 砂, 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 砂
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- sand
- gravel
- granule
- variant of 沙[sha1]
How 砂 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Many small 少 stones 石; 少 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 石 (stone), shared by 114 characters on this site.
How to remember 砂
砂 puts 石 (shí, stone) next to 少 (shǎo, few or little). Picture stone broken into little bits, and you have sand or gravel. 少 also hints at the sound shā.
砂 is often a variant of 沙 (shā, sand), but it is the standard choice in some fixed words, especially ones about grainy or hard materials. A common everyday word is 砂糖 (shātáng), granulated sugar. Example: 咖啡里放一点砂糖。(Kāfēi lǐ fàng yīdiǎn shātáng.) Put a little sugar in the coffee.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 砂 and 沙 because they sound the same. 沙 with the water radical 氵 is the everyday word for sand, as in 沙滩 (shātān, beach), so do not swap in 砂 there. Also do not write 少 as 小. The top part of 砂 has the extra slanted stroke at the bottom right.
Common words with 砂
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 砂糖 | shātáng | granulated sugar | HSK 7-9 |
| 海砂 | hǎishā | variant of 海沙[hai3 sha1] |
砂 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 砂
How many strokes are in 砂?
砂 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 砂 mean?
砂 (shā) means sand, pebbles, gravel; gritty. A common word with it is 砂糖 (shātáng), meaning "granulated sugar".
How do you pronounce 砂?
砂 is pronounced shā, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 砂?
The radical of 砂 is 石, which carries the idea of "stone". Dictionaries list 砂 under this radical.
Is 砂 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 砂 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 砂 and 沙?
Both are read shā and can mean sand. 沙 is the general, more common character, while 砂 is used in certain set words like 砂糖 (shātáng). When you are unsure, 沙 is usually the safer choice for plain sand.
Is 砂糖 the same as regular sugar?
砂糖 (shātáng) means granulated sugar, the grainy kind you add to drinks. The general word for sugar is 糖 (táng), which can also mean candy.