Meaning
flash; lightning
Chinese: 闪光、闪电。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “shan” becomes a different word in each tone. 闪 is the 3rd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 闪电shǎn diànlightning
- 闪烁shǎn shuòto glisten; to glitter; to twinkle; to flicker
- 闪人shǎn rén(coll.) to beat it; to take French leave
- 闪出shǎn chūto flash; to sparkle; to appear suddenly
- 闪过shǎn guòto flash through (one's mind); to dodge (away from pursuers)
Example Sentence
远处的天空闪过一道闪电。Yuǎn chù de tiān kōng shǎn guò yí dào shǎn diàn.A flash of lightning streaked across the distant sky.
远处Yuǎn chùdistant place的deof天空tiān kōngsky闪过shǎn guòto flash through (one's mi一道yí dàotogether闪电shǎn diànlightning。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A person (人) darting in a doorway (门): appearing and vanishing in a flash. It means ‘to flash / dodge’. Simplified from 閃.
A way to remember it
A person flitting through a doorway — a flash.
Easy to confuse with
- 问‘To ask’: a door around 口 (mouth) instead of a person.