The character 闪 — “flash”: how to write it and what it means

闪
shǎn

flash; dodge

5 strokes · HSK 6 · word page

The Chinese character 闪 is read shǎn and means “flash; dodge”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.

Stroke order: how to write 闪

闪 has 5 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 闪, with strokes to trace and empty squares.

What 闪 is made of

Outside, 门 “door”; inside, 人 “person”: someone flashed past in the doorway.

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

Words with 闪

Frequently asked questions

How do you write the character 闪?

闪 has 5 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 闪 mean?

闪 means “flash; dodge”. It appears in 闪电 (“lightning”).

How do you pronounce 闪?

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

How many strokes does 闪 have?

5 strokes.

← 逃 escape蹲 squat →

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 闪 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.

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