How to Write 仨 (sā) — Meaning “three (colloquial)”

Think of the number 3 (三) standing next to a person (亻). Imagine three friends standing side by side, and say 'sā' like 'saw' — as in 'I saw three people.' This links the sound and shape.

The left radical 亻 must be narrow and tall, with its vertical stroke ending around the middle of the right side. The three horizontal strokes of 三 should be evenly spaced and parallel, and the bottom stroke should be slightly longer for balance.

亿 (yì) means 'a hundred million' and uses the same person radical but has 乙 on the right. 什 (shén/shí) means 'what' or 'ten' and has 十 on the right. 仨 is unique because its right side 三 directly shows the number three, and it is only used for counting people in casual speech.

仨 is a colloquial, spoken-only word meaning 'three (people)' — for example, 我们仨 (we three) or 仨人 (three people). Do not use it for objects, distances, or formal writing; use 三 instead. The phrase 我们仨 is also the title of a famous memoir by Yang Jiang about her family.

Common words containing 仨 include: 我们仨 (wǒ men sā) — The three of us; 仨人 (sā rén) — three people; 买了仨 (mǎi le sā) — bought three.