How to Write 杉 (shān) — Meaning “Fir; cedar”

Imagine a tall fir tree (木) with three long, pointed branches sticking out like the three strokes of 彡. The three strokes represent the tree's needle-like leaves, helping you link the shape to the meaning 'fir' or 'cedar'.

The left radical 木 should be written with the vertical stroke crossing the horizontal, and the right component 彡 consists of three slanted strokes of similar length and spacing. A common mistake is making the three strokes of 彡 too vertical or uneven; keep them parallel and slightly sloping right.

杉 is a tree name with the radical 木 on the left, while 未 (wèi, 'not yet') and 末 (mò, 'end') are both single characters with different stroke lengths on the top horizontal line: 未 has a shorter top stroke, 末 has a longer top stroke. Unlike 杉, they have no tree radical and completely different pronunciations and meanings.

杉 appears in names of conifer trees such as 杉树 (fir tree) and 水杉 (dawn redwood), a living fossil species native to China. It is also used in personal names and place names, often symbolizing strength and longevity because fir and cedar trees are tall and long-lived.

Common words containing 杉 include: 杉树 (shān shù) — Fir tree; 水杉 (shuǐ shān) — Dawn redwood; 云杉 (yún shān) — Spruce tree..