How to Write 筛 (shāi) — Meaning “to sieve; to sift”

Imagine a bamboo (⺮) basket that a teacher (师) uses to sift flour in a cooking class. The teacher shakes the basket, and the fine flour falls through – this action of separating is the meaning of 筛 (to sieve).

The bamboo radical ⺮ is written as a narrow top, with both parts slanting inward slightly. The lower part 师 must be balanced under it; a common mistake is making the top too wide or the bottom stroke of 师 too long, which ruins the proportion.

Both 笑 and 笔 also use the bamboo radical, but they have different lower parts: 笑 has 夭 (young) meaning smile, while 笔 has 毛 (hair/fur) meaning writing brush. Unlike 筛, neither involves the action of sieving; 筛 is specifically about filtering or selecting through a sieve.

筛 is used in everyday contexts like 筛沙 (shāi shā, sifting sand) in construction or 筛选 (shāi xuǎn, screening/selecting) in job applications or data filtering. It also appears in cooking, such as using a 筛子 (shāi zi, sieve) to sift flour or strain tea.

Common words containing 筛 include: 筛选 (shāi xuǎn) — to screen; to filter; to select; 筛子 (shāi zi) — sieve; strainer; 筛沙 (shāi shā) — to sift sand.