散 (sàn) is a Chinese character meaning “to scatter”. It is written from 龷 (four-stroke top element: two uprights crossed by a short bar, closed by a long bar below (as in 昔, 共)) and 月 (moon; month) and 攵 (a hand holding a stick; marks an action done to something), side by side, and takes 12 strokes. It has a second reading, sǎn, which turns up in 散文 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “to scatter”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
龷 + 月 + 攵
Left–right structure
- 龷 four-stroke top element: two uprights crossed by a short bar, closed by a long bar below (as in 昔, 共) unknown
- 月 moon; month · yuè unknown
- 攵 a hand holding a stick; marks an action done to something · pū unknown
Structure from: cjkvi-ids (⿰⿱龷⺼攵; ⺼ written 月 in modern form) + makemeahanzi decomposition, checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes
Memory aid
A rack of stalks (龷) sits on top of a piece of meat (月); a hand with a stick (攵) whacks it and everything scatters. This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
12 strokes
In real words
- 散步sàn bùto take a walk; to stroll散 = sàn
- 涣散huàn sànslack; lax; (of morale, attention or organization) scattered and unfocused散 = sàn
Go deeper
All readings
to scatter; to disperse
to scatter; to disperse; to break up; to let out; to dispel
由聚集而分开；分布；排遣。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 散步sàn bùto take a walk; to stroll散 = sàn
- 涣散huàn sànslack; lax; (of morale, attention or organization) scattered and unfocused散 = sàn
loose; scattered
loose; scattered; not held together; (in compounds) informal, miscellaneous
没有约束、松开的；零碎的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 散文sǎn wénprose; essay散 = sǎn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 散 mean?
散 (sàn) means to scatter; to disperse; to break up; to let out; to dispel.
How do you pronounce 散?
Its main reading is sàn. It also has a second reading, sǎn, which only shows up in certain words such as 散文 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 散 sometimes pronounced sǎn?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 散文 it is read sǎn.
What parts is 散 made of?
龷 (four-stroke top element: two uprights crossed by a short bar, closed by a long bar below (as in 昔, 共)) and 月 (moon; month) and 攵 (a hand holding a stick; marks an action done to something), side by side. The recorded source is: cjkvi-ids (⿰⿱龷⺼攵; ⺼ written 月 in modern form) + makemeahanzi decomposition, checked against hanzi-writer-data strokes. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 散 have?
12. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 散?
攵. 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 散?
Common ones are 散步 and 涣散. The reading of 散 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.