Meaning of 三
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- three
- 3
- surname San
How to use 三
三 is used for counting, dates, and ordinal numbers, and it also appears in many set phrases like 再三 (zàisān, again and again) and 接二连三 (jiē'èr-liánsān, one after another). Before a noun it needs a measure word. Example: 我有三个朋友。(Wǒ yǒu sān ge péngyou.) I have three friends.
三 (sān) is simply three horizontal strokes, one line for each count. Think of 一 (yī) one line, 二 (èr) two lines, and 三 three lines.
Common mistake: Learners often write the three strokes the same length. In 三 the middle stroke is the shortest and the bottom stroke is the longest. Another trap is the tone: 三 is first tone sān, so do not let it drop like sǎn (伞, umbrella).
三 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
三 sān · three · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 三.
| 再三 | zàisān | over and over again; again and again |
| 三明治 | sānmíngzhì | (loanword) sandwich |
| 三角 | sānjiǎo | triangle; (math.) trigonometry (abbr. for 三角學|三角学[san1 jiao3 xue2]) |
| 接二连三 | jiē'èr-liánsān | (idiom) one after another; in quick succession |
| 三维 | sānwéi | three-dimensional; 3D |
| 举一反三 | jǔyī-fǎnsān | to raise one and infer three; to deduce many things from one case (idiom) |
| 三番五次 | sānfān-wǔcì | over and over again (idiom) |
| 朝三暮四 | zhāosān-mùsì | lit. say three in the morning but four in the evening (idiom); to change sth that is alrea |
| 三次 | sāncì | third; three times |
| 三十 | sānshí | thirty; 30 |
| 十三 | shísān | thirteen; 13 |
| 三分 | sānfēn | somewhat; to some degree |
Questions about 三
What does 三 mean?
三 (sān) means "three; 3" and is used as a numeral.
How do you write 三?
三 is made of 1 character: 三 (3 strokes). That is 3 strokes in total.
Is 三 an HSK word?
Yes. 三 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 三明治 (sānmíngzhì) mean sandwich if 三 means three?
三明治 is a loanword chosen for its sound, which is close to the English word sandwich. Here 三 is used only for its pronunciation, not for its meaning of three.
What does 举一反三 (jǔyī-fǎnsān) mean, and is 三 literally three there?
It means to learn one example and work out many related things from it. The 三 is not an exact count. It stands for many, which is a common use of 三 in idioms.