杉 (shān) is a Chinese character meaning “fir”. It is written from 木 (tree; wood) and 彡 (three slanting strokes (bristles, hair, light or pattern)), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “fir tree”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
木 + 彡
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：7 画 = 木 4 画 + 彡 3 画；《广韵》杉 所咸切、彡 所銜切，声母韵母相近，判为从木彡声
Memory aid
A tree (木) with three fine needles (彡) brushed onto its side — the fir.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 杉树shān shùfir tree; China fir杉 = shān
- 水杉shuǐ shāndawn redwood (Metasequoia)杉 = shān
Go deeper
All readings
fir
fir; China fir, an evergreen conifer whose light, soft timber is used for building and furniture
常绿乔木，叶子呈针形，木材轻软，可用来盖房子、做家具。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 杉树shān shùfir tree; China fir杉 = shān
- 水杉shuǐ shāndawn redwood (Metasequoia)杉 = shān
Rare readings, not taught: shā
Sound component
彡 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 杉 mean?
杉 (shān) means fir; China fir, an evergreen conifer whose light, soft timber is used for building and furniture.
How do you pronounce 杉?
It is pronounced shān.
What parts is 杉 made of?
木 (tree; wood) and 彡 (three slanting strokes (bristles, hair, light or pattern)), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形以 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 核验：7 画 = 木 4 画 + 彡 3 画；《广韵》杉 所咸切、彡 所銜切，声母韵母相近，判为从木彡声. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 杉 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 杉?
木. 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 杉?
Common ones are 杉树 and 水杉. The reading of 杉 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.