Chinese character for three: 三 (sān)
The Chinese character for three is 三 (sān). It means three and appears in 三月 (sānyuè, March) and 三角 (sānjiǎo, triangle). Three often stands for 'many' in classical Chinese.
How 三 is built
三 is three counting strokes stacked one above the other, following 一 and 二. Traditionally the three lines are linked with heaven, humanity and earth, which is also the classic reading of 王 (king), where a vertical stroke joins the three. In calligraphy the middle stroke is shortest and the bottom stroke longest. 三 is identical in simplified and traditional Chinese.
三 sān · three
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 二 — two strokes
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
Origin hint: Three parallel lines; compare 一 (one) and 二 (two) (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
How 三 is used
Before you use it as a tattoo or design: 三 is identical in both scripts; keep the bottom line longest so it reads as a character, not three dashes.
Questions
What is the Chinese character for three?
三 (sān) means “three”.
How do you pronounce 三?
三 is pronounced sān.