铲 (chǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “shovel”. It is written from 钅 (metal radical (left-side form of 金)) and 产 (to produce; to give birth), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “shovel”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
钅 + 产
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：钅 5 画 + 产 6 画 = 11 画；繁体作「鏟」（金+產），声符与本字同音 chǎn
Memory aid
钅 on the left is the metal radical. 产 on the right means to produce. A metal tool that digs up what the ground produces: a shovel.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 铲子chǎn zǐshovel; spade铲 = chǎnspoken aschǎn zi
- 锅铲guō chǎnspatula; wok turner铲 = chǎn
Go deeper
All readings
shovel; to shovel
shovel; spade; to shovel; to scrape off; to level
铲子，一种平头的工具；也指用铲子或类似工具削平、清除。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 铲子chǎn zǐshovel; spade铲 = chǎnspoken aschǎn zi
- 锅铲guō chǎnspatula; wok turner铲 = chǎn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 铲 mean?
铲 (chǎn) means shovel; spade; to shovel; to scrape off; to level.
How do you pronounce 铲?
It is pronounced chǎn.
What parts is 铲 made of?
钅 (metal radical (left-side form of 金)) and 产 (to produce; to give birth), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：钅 5 画 + 产 6 画 = 11 画；繁体作「鏟」（金+產），声符与本字同音 chǎn. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 铲 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 铲?
金. 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 铲?
Common ones are 铲子 and 锅铲. The reading of 铲 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.