纱 meaning and stroke order
Cotton yarn; muslin
How to write 纱, 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.
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Meaning of 纱
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- cotton yarn
- muslin
How 纱 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Thread.
纟 gives the meaning and 少 hints at the sound.
Radical: 纟 (silk), shared by 143 characters on this site.
How to remember 纱
纱 combines the silk radical 纟 (thread) with 少 (shǎo, few or little). Think of fabric woven with only a little thread, so it is thin and see-through, like gauze. 少 also hints at the sound sh-.
纱 refers to yarn or thin, light fabric. It appears mostly in compounds such as 纱布 (shābù) gauze, 面纱 (miànshā) veil, and 纱窗 (shāchuāng) window screen. Example: 她穿着白色的婚纱。(Tā chuānzhe báisè de hūnshā.) She is wearing a white wedding dress.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 纱 (shā) with 沙 (shā, sand), which has the water radical 氵 instead of 纟. If it is cloth or thread, use 纟. If it is sand or grit, use 氵.
Common words with 纱
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
纱 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 纱
How many strokes are in 纱?
纱 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 纱 mean?
纱 (shā) means cotton yarn; muslin. A common word with it is 婚纱 (hūnshā), meaning "wedding dress".
How do you pronounce 纱?
纱 is pronounced shā, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 纱?
The radical of 纱 is 纟, which carries the idea of "silk". Dictionaries list 纱 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 纱?
The traditional form of 纱 is 紗. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 纱 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 纱 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 纱 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 纱 sound like shā when 少 is pronounced shǎo?
少 is the sound component, but it only gives an approximate hint. Many characters built on 少 share the sh- sound, such as 沙 (shā) and 砂 (shā), even though the vowel and tone differ from shǎo.
Is 婚纱 the whole wedding dress or just the veil?
婚纱 (hūnshā) usually means the whole Western-style wedding gown. A veil is 面纱 (miànshā) or 头纱 (tóushā). The phrase 拍婚纱照 (pāi hūnshā zhào) means taking wedding photos.