参

㕘
cān
#507 most
frequent character
variant of 參|参[can1]

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

参 began as three stars shining over a person, meaning 'Three Stars'. 彡 is the sound part, a variant of 三. Read cān, the sense 'to join, participate' was borrowed for the sound; read shēn, 'ginseng' was also borrowed for the sound.

Drawn as: stars over a person

参 as a component in other characters

sound8 characters
惨渗掺碜糁骖毵黪

Ask DeepSeek

Same Characters, Different Readings

参cān
to take part in, to participate
参cēn
used in 參差|参差[cen1 ci1]
参shēn
ginseng, one of the 28 constellations
参cān
old variant of 參|参[can1]
参shēn
variant of 參|参[shen1]
参shēn
variant of 參|参[shen1]

Homophones

餐cān
food, meal, eat
参cān
to take part in, to participate

Your word lists

Sign in to add this word to your private lists.