(sān) - three in Mandarin
sānTraditional: 三
Translation
three
Word origin
三 (sān) is a simple indicative character: three horizontal strokes standing for the number three, the same counting principle as 一 (one) and 二 (two).
- Origin
- ideograph
- Root
- 三 (sān), three strokes for the number three
Stroke order
三
Examples
。
I have three children.
。
It's three o'clock now.
。
Please give me three glasses of water.
。
I waited for three days.
。
He came in third place.
Used in
Grammar articles
(14)Mandarin Advanced Grammar (C1-C2 / HSK 6+): Chengyu, Classical Remnants, and Register
Approximation and Rounding in Mandarin: 左右, 大概, 差不多, 几 and 来 for About, Around and Roughly
Mandarin Aspect Markers: 了, 在/正在, 过 - the System That Replaces Tense
Mandarin Classifiers (Measure Words): 个, 本, 张, 只, 条, and the Rule That Every Counted Noun Needs One
The Mandarin Copula 是 (shì): To Be, and When to Leave It Out
Asking How + Adjective in Mandarin with 多: 多高, 多远, 多长, 多大
The Double 了 Sentence in Mandarin: 我学了三年中文了 and the Continuing-Action Pattern
Duration Complements in Mandarin (时量补语): How to Say How Long an Action Lasts
The Experiential 过 (guò) in Mandarin: Saying You Have Ever Done Something
Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
The Two 了 in Mandarin: Completion 了 After the Verb vs Change-of-State 了 at the End
Mandarin Numbers, Time, Dates, and Currency: From 1 to 1,000,000, the 二/两 Split, and Time-Before-Verb
Mandarin Verb-Object Verbs: Why 'To Eat' Is 吃饭 and How It Splits Apart
Mandarin Word Order: SVO, Topic-Comment, and the 把 Construction That Reorders Everything
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 15.