How to Write 彡 (shān) — Meaning “bristle radical”

Imagine three long hairs falling diagonally across your face. Since 彡 looks like three slanted lines, you can think of it as a 'triple hair' or a brush with three bristles.

Write three short, evenly spaced slanted strokes from top-left to bottom-right. A common mistake is making the strokes too vertical or placing them unevenly—keep them parallel and similar in length.

彡 is just three slanted strokes, while 㐱 has an extra component—a 'person' radical (亻) above or combined with similar strokes. Visually, 㐱 looks more complex, whereas 彡 is a simple stand-alone radical.

彡 is rarely used alone; it mainly appears as a radical (Radical 59) inside characters like 形 (shape) and 影 (shadow). It relates to hair, decoration, or appearance, reflecting its original meaning of bristles or flowing lines.

Common words containing 彡 include: 彡部 (shān bù) — Radical 59; 彡彡 (shān shān) — long and flowing; 彡形 (shān xíng) — bristle shape.