How to Write 鄯 (shàn) — Meaning “Shan (used in place names)”

Picture the right side 善 as a "good" town, and the left radical 阝 as the hill or mound where the town sits. So you can think: "A good (善) place (阝) in Xinjiang — that's 鄯." This connects the meaning and sound.

The character has 14 strokes — first write the left radical 阝 (2 strokes), then the right part 善. Pay special attention to the top of 善: it's 羊 (sheep) without the middle vertical stroke, followed by two horizontal lines and 口 below. Common mistakes include adding an extra stroke in the "sheep" part or making the right side too wide.

鄯 (shàn) is mostly used in place names like 鄯善 (Shanshan county), while 鄙 (bǐ) means "despise" or "rural" and is far more common. 鄞 (yín) is only used for 鄞州 (a district in Ningbo). Visually, 鄯 has 善 on the right, 鄙 has 啚, and 鄞 has 垔; they share the 阝 radical but differ completely in meaning and sound.

You will almost only see 鄯 in the place name 鄯善县 (Shanshan County) in Xinjiang, China, and occasionally in historical references to 鄯州 (an ancient prefecture). It is not used in daily conversation or HSK vocabulary, so it is a rare, specialized character for geography.

Common words containing 鄯 include: 鄯善 (shàn shàn) — Shanshan (a county in Xinjiang); 鄯州 (shàn zhōu) — Shanzhou (an ancient prefecture); 鄯善县 (shàn shàn xiàn) — Shanshan County.