三 (sān) is a Chinese character meaning “three”. It is written from 一 (one) and 一 (one) and 一 (one), and takes 3 strokes.
Build the character for “three”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
一 + 一 + 一
Top–middle–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode U+4E09 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (three horizontal strokes)
Memory aid
Stack one horizontal stroke (一), another (一), and a third (一): three lines for the number three.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
3 strokes
In real words
- 三月sān yuèMarch三 = sān
Go deeper
All readings
three
three; the number 3
数目三，二加一所得。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 三月sān yuèMarch三 = sān
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 三 mean?
三 (sān) means three; the number 3.
How do you pronounce 三?
It is pronounced sān.
What parts is 三 made of?
一 (one) and 一 (one) and 一 (one). The recorded source is: Unicode U+4E09 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (three horizontal strokes). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 三 have?
3. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 三?
一. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 三?
Common ones are 三月. The reading of 三 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.