珊 (shān) is a Chinese character meaning “used in 珊瑚 (shānhú), coral — the stony, branching skeleton”. It is written from 王 (king) and 册 (bamboo slips bound together; a volume, a booklet), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “coral”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
王 + 册
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（从玉，刪省聲）+ hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验
Memory aid
The jade radical 王 on the left marks a precious stone from the sea; 册, a bundle of bamboo slips tied side by side, is the branching shape of coral. Jade-like slips standing in the water: 珊, coral.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 珊瑚shān húcoral珊 = shān
- 珊瑚礁shān hú jiāocoral reef珊 = shān
Go deeper
All readings
coral (in 珊瑚)
used in 珊瑚 (shānhú), coral — the stony, branching skeleton built by sea polyps
用于「珊瑚」，指海中珊瑚虫骨骼堆积成的树枝状物。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 珊瑚shān húcoral珊 = shān
- 珊瑚礁shān hú jiāocoral reef珊 = shān
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 珊 mean?
珊 (shān) means used in 珊瑚 (shānhú), coral — the stony, branching skeleton built by sea polyps.
How do you pronounce 珊?
It is pronounced shān.
What parts is 珊 made of?
王 (king) and 册 (bamboo slips bound together; a volume, a booklet), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（从玉，刪省聲）+ hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 珊 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 珊?
玉. 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 珊?
Common ones are 珊瑚 and 珊瑚礁. The reading of 珊 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.