衫 (shān) is a Chinese character meaning “an unlined upper garment”. It is written from 衤 (clothing (left-side form)) and 彡 (three slanting strokes (bristles, hair, light or pattern)), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “a light, unlined shirt”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
衤 + 彡
Left–right structure
- 衤 clothing (left-side form) · yī meaning
- 彡 three slanting strokes (bristles, hair, light or pattern) · shān sound
Structure from: studyhanzi 构形核验：现代字形拆分 ⿰衤彡，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺（5+3=8 画）
Memory aid
The clothing radical 衤 on the left, and 彡 — three light slanting strokes — on the right: a thin single-layer garment with the fabric's folds showing. 彡 also carries the sound: shān.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 衬衫chèn shānshirt; button-up shirt衫 = shān
Go deeper
All readings
unlined upper garment; shirt
an unlined upper garment; shirt; a light top worn on the upper body
单层的上衣，多指穿在上身的轻薄衣服。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 衬衫chèn shānshirt; button-up shirt衫 = shān
Sound component
彡 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 衫 mean?
衫 (shān) means an unlined upper garment; shirt; a light top worn on the upper body.
How do you pronounce 衫?
It is pronounced shān.
What parts is 衫 made of?
衤 (clothing (left-side form)) and 彡 (three slanting strokes (bristles, hair, light or pattern)), side by side. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 构形核验：现代字形拆分 ⿰衤彡，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺（5+3=8 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 衫 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 衫?
衣. 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 衫?
Common ones are 衬衫. The reading of 衫 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.