sān HSK 1

English Meaning

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📚 Example Sentences

我有三个苹果。
Wǒ yǒu sān ge píngguǒ.
I have three apples.
这是三个人。
Zhè shì sān ge rén.
These are three people.
三很好。
Sān hěn hǎo.
Three is good.
我有三个苹果。
Wǒ yǒu sān gè píngguǒ.
I have three apples.
她等了三个小时。
Tā děng le sān gè xiǎoshí.
She waited for three hours.

💡 Memory Tip

Imagine the character 三 looks like three horizontal lines stacked on top of each other, directly representing the number three. You can think of it as 'three strokes for three things'.

📝 Usage Notes

This word is neutral and used universally in all contexts—formal and informal, spoken and written. It appears in dates (e.g., 星期三 for Wednesday), ages, phone numbers, addresses, and general counting.

📖 Grammar Points

三 is used like other numerals: it typically precedes a measure word when counting nouns (e.g., 三个人, sān gè rén, three people). In ordinal numbers, it combines with 第 (dì) to mean 'third' (e.g., 第三, dì sān).

🏯 Cultural Notes

In Chinese culture, 三 can symbolize completeness or harmony, as in the saying '三生万物' (sān shēng wànwù, 'three gives birth to all things') from Daoism. It is often considered a lucky number, associated with growth and stability.

🔄 Similar Words

Unlike 叁 (sān), which is the complex formal numeral used in financial contexts to prevent fraud, 三 is the standard, everyday form. It differs from other numerals like 二 (èr, two) and 四 (sì, four) in value but follows the same grammatical rules.

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