How to Write 汕 (shàn) — Meaning “Shantou (Swatow) / a type of fish trap”

Imagine a mountain (山) standing next to a river (氵), and you are saying "Shan" as you point to the water — that's 汕. For pronunciation, think of the English word "shun" but with a softer ending, like "shan" (rhymes with "sun") to link to the city Shantou.

The water radical 氵 must be written with three dots in a compact curve, not too spread out, and the mountain 山 should be centered and slightly narrower to keep balance. A common mistake is making the mountain too tall or wide, which makes the character look lopsided — keep the mountain's middle stroke short and the side strokes even.

Unlike 汕, the character 㳄 (rare, meaning saliva) has a different right side that resembles a person with open mouth, not a mountain. 氿 (guǐ, a small spring) has the water radical on the left and 九 (nine) on the right, so it looks like water plus the number nine, whereas 汕 is water plus mountain.

You will almost always see 汕 in place names, especially 汕头 (Shàntóu, Shantou) and 汕尾 (Shànwěi, Shanwei), both cities in Guangdong province. The original meaning of a fish trap is very rare today, but knowing 汕 helps you recognize Teochew culture and the local dialect called 汕头话 (Shàntóu huà).

Common words containing 汕 include: 汕头 (shàn tóu) — Shantou (a city in Guangdong); 汕尾 (shàn wěi) — Shanwei (a city in Guangdong); 汕头话 (shàn tóu huà) — Shantou dialect (Teochew).