三
sān · HSK 1
three
Three horizontal strokes = the number three; one of the simplest Chinese characters.
三 stacks three equal horizontal lines, mirroring 一 (one) and 二 (two). The character is a direct tally: count the strokes, get the number. Sound sān rhymes with English 'sahn'.
三 — three horizontal strokes 一 + 一 + 一
三 is a pictographic numeral: three stacked horizontal lines representing the number three, parallel to 一 (one) and 二 (two). The form has been stable since oracle bone script. It carries no phonetic component; the meaning 'three' is direct and visual.