shǎn

flash

Original meaning: 

peek

Depicts a person () peeking through the space in the middle of a door (). Based on the original meaning "peek". The meaning later shifted to "dodge" and "flash".

Components
門 iconic component

  Iconic component

mén

  

door

人 iconic component

  Iconic component

rén

  

person

Evolution

閃 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
閃 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

() 

shǎn

flash; avoid, dodge, evade; to dodge; to duck out of the way; to beat it; shaken (by a fall); to sprain; to pull a muscle; lightning; spark; a flash; to flash (across one's mind); to leave behind; (Internet slang) (of a display of affection) "dazzlingly" saccharine

() 

Shǎn

surname Shan

Most common words with 閃
Freq.
Word
Meaning

to dodge

闪电

lightning

闪亮

brilliant

闪闪

flickering

闪耀

to glint

Statistics

Not found in HSK word list

Appears in 26.9422% of movies

1185th most common character in movies

1113th most common character in books

Miscellaneous

Strokes

10

Simplified

Unicode

U+9583

Shuowen

“閃,闚頭門中也。从人在門中。”


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