How to Write 单 (chán/dān/shàn) — Meaning “single”

Imagine a single person (口) standing on a cross-shaped road (十) while wearing two small hats (丷) — this unusual picture reminds you that 单 means "single" or "alone". Another trick is to think of the top part as two dots showing "one" in a simple way, because 单 often appears in the word 简单 (simple).

Pay attention to the stroke order: first write the two dots (丷) from left to right, then the 口 (mouth) as a box, and finally the bottom 十 (ten) with the horizontal stroke before the vertical. A common mistake is making the 口 too wide or the bottom 十 too close to the 口 — keep the 口 narrow and centered. Also, the two top dots should be separate, not connected.

单 (dān) has a 口 (mouth) inside, while 关 (guān, meaning "to close") replaces the 口 with 天 (sky) and has a different bottom. 兴 (xìng, meaning "prosper" or "interest") has a roof-like 冖 above and three lines at the bottom instead of 十. Visual clue: 单 looks like a single standing figure, 关 looks like a closed gate, and 兴 looks like hands lifting up.

单 is very common in everyday Chinese, especially in words like 单位 (dān wèi, unit or workplace) and 简单 (jiǎn dān, simple/easy). It is also a surname (姓单, xìng Dān) — note that when used as a surname, the pronunciation is Dān, not Chán. A cultural note: the phrase 单枪匹马 (dān qiāng pǐ mǎ, single spear and lone horse) describes someone acting alone, similar to the English idiom "going it alone".

Common words containing 单 include: 单位 (dān wèi) — unit; 简单 (jiǎn dān) — simple / easy; 姓单 (xìng dān) — Surnamed Shan..