善(shàn)

HSK 312 strokes

good (virtuous)

Print a 善 worksheet PDFPractice writing 善

Stroke order animation

Character information

Pinyin
shàn
Meaning
good (virtuous); benevolent; well-disposed; good at sth; to improve or perfect
Strokes
12
HSK level
HSK 3
Traditional
Same

Origin & structure

Where 善 comes from and how its parts fit together.

Ideograph⿱羊⿱⿱丷一口

To give someone food 羊 and conversation 口

A combination of parts whose meanings add up to the whole.

Made of

羊yáng丷bā一yī口kǒu

Parts are arranged top to bottom.

How to write 善 step by step

12 strokes — each frame adds one stroke, shown in dark ink over the lighter ones.

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Words with 善

Common words using 善 — tap any character to open its stroke-order page.

shàn善yú于
HSK 4

to be good at; to be adept at

Open 善于 page →
yǒu友shàn善
HSK 7-9

friendly

Open 友善 page →
shàn善yì意
HSK 7-9

goodwill

Open 善意 page →
bù不shàn善

bad; ill; not good at; not to be pooh-poohed; quite impressive

Open 不善 page →
wěi伪shàn善

hypocritical

Open 伪善 page →
shàng上shàn善ruò若shuǐ水

the ideal is to be like water (which benefits all living things and does not struggle a…

Open 上善若水 page →
fá乏shàn善kě可chén陈

(idiom) to be nothing to write home about

Open 乏善可陈 page →
jiān兼shàn善tiān天xià下

(idiom) to work for the common good beyond one's own interests

Open 兼善天下 page →

Related characters

More HSK 3 characters

专世丰丽义乡乱争

From 善’s common words

于友意不伪上若水

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