The character 沙 — “sand”: how to write it and what it means

沙
shā

sand

7 strokes · HSK 3

The Chinese character 沙 is read shā and means “sand”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.

Stroke order: how to write 沙

沙 has 7 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.

To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 沙, with strokes to trace and empty squares.

What 沙 is made of

On the left, 氵 “water”; on the right, 少 “little”. In 沙发 it only gives the sound: “sofa”.

The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.

Words with 沙

Frequently asked questions

How do you write the character 沙?

沙 has 7 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.

What does 沙 mean?

沙 means “sand”. It appears in 沙发 (“sofa”), 沙漠 (“desert”), 沙子 (“sand”).

How do you pronounce 沙?

沙 is read shā. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.

How many strokes does 沙 have?

7 strokes.

← 卫 guard安 calm →

More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.

Write 沙 yourself

In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.

Start for free