陕 (shǎn) is a Chinese character meaning “Shaanxi Province, used as its one-character abbreviation”. It is written from 阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)) and 夹 (to clamp; to press something between), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “Shaanxi (province)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
阝 + 夹
Left–right structure
- 阝 left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑) · fù meaning
- 夹 to clamp; to press something between · jiā unknown
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（阝2画 + 夹6画 = 8画，笔画 0–1 为左耳旁「阝」，笔画 2–7 与「夹」逐笔对应）；康熙部首「阜」
Memory aid
The left ear (阝) is a mound of earth — high ground. Next to it, 夹 clamps something between two sides. Land clamped between mountain ranges: 陕.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 陕西shǎn xīShaanxi (a province in northwest China)陕 = shǎn
- 陕北shǎn běinorthern Shaanxi陕 = shǎnspoken asshán běi
Go deeper
All readings
Shaanxi (province)
Shaanxi Province, used as its one-character abbreviation; originally an old place name
陕西省的简称；本为古地名。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 陕西shǎn xīShaanxi (a province in northwest China)陕 = shǎn
- 陕北shǎn běinorthern Shaanxi陕 = shǎnspoken asshán běi
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 陕 mean?
陕 (shǎn) means Shaanxi Province, used as its one-character abbreviation; originally an old place name.
How do you pronounce 陕?
It is pronounced shǎn.
What parts is 陕 made of?
阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)) and 夹 (to clamp; to press something between), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（阝2画 + 夹6画 = 8画，笔画 0–1 为左耳旁「阝」，笔画 2–7 与「夹」逐笔对应）；康熙部首「阜」. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 陕 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 陕?
阜. 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 陕?
Common ones are 陕西 and 陕北. The reading of 陕 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.