三 sān three
three; several
How to remember 三: Mum has one baby on her hip, two toddlers pulling at her coat, and sighs "Who said three would be easy?"
Component breakdown
Mum has one baby on her hip, two toddlers pulling at her coat, and sighs "Who said three would be easy?"
How it came to be
Three strokes laid one above the other, and that is all it has ever been. One, two and three are counted straight onto the page; four broke the pattern.
How it is used
- Three - 三个 (sān ge) three of, 三月 (sānyuè) March.
- In idioms it often just means 'several / repeatedly': 再三 (zàisān) again and again, 三番五次 (sānfān-wǔcì) time after time.
Characters built with 三
Words with 三
- 再三zàisānover and over againHSK 6
- 三角sānjiǎotriangleHSK 7
- 举一反三jǔyī-fǎnsānto raise one and infer threeHSK 7
- 接二连三jiē’èr-liánsānone after anotherHSK 7
- 三番五次sānfān-wǔcìover and over again (idiom)HSK 8
- 三维sānwéithree-dimensionalHSK 8
- 丢三落四diūsān-làsìforgetfulHSK 8
- 朝三暮四zhāosān-mùsìliterally say three in the morning but four in the eveningHSK 9
Example sentences
- 我买了三本书。 Wǒ mǎile sān běn shū.I bought three books.
- 我下午三点上课。 Wǒ xiàwǔ sān diǎn shàngkè.I have a lesson at 3:00 p.m.
- 这棵树有三米高。 Zhè kē shù yǒu sān mǐ gāo.This tree is three meters tall.
- 老人人口占总人口的百分之三十。 Lǎorén rénkǒu zhàn zǒng rénkǒu de bǎifēnzhī sān shí.Elderly people account for 30% of the total population.