How to Write 衫 (shān) — Meaning “shirt; unlined upper garment”

Imagine a shirt (衣) with three colorful stripes (彡) on it to help you remember the right side. The three strokes of 彡 look like three stripes or lines. So picture a shirt with three stripes, and you’ll recall 衫.

Pay attention to the left radical 衤: it has a dot on top, then a horizontal stroke, and a small hook at the bottom. The right side 彡 consists of three parallel slanted strokes, all angled downward to the left. A common mistake is writing the three strokes of 彡 too far apart or at different angles.

衫 (shān) means 'shirt' or 'unlined garment,' while 补 (bǔ) means 'to mend' and has the same clothing radical but a different right side (卜). 衩 (chà) refers to a slit in a garment, with the right side 叉 meaning 'fork.' Visually, 衫 has three strokes on the right, 补 has two, and 衩 has a cross shape.

衫 is commonly used in words like 衬衫 (chèn shān, shirt/blouse) and 汗衫 (hàn shān, undershirt). It appears in daily clothing vocabulary, especially for light, upper-body garments. In Chinese culture, 衫 often implies a simple or casual top, unlike formal jackets or coats.

Common words containing 衫 include: 衬衫 (chèn shān) — shirt; blouse; 汗衫 (hàn shān) — undershirt; 毛衫 (máo shān) — Woolen sweater.