散

sàn
#864 most
frequent character
fall apart, scattered
verb
adjective

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

散 first showed trees 龷 being beaten with a staff 攵, with chips flying, so it meant scattering something by pounding. 月 yuè was added later for the sound, though that link is faint today. Read sàn it means to scatter or spread; read sǎn it means loose or falling apart.

Drawn as: staff beating wood

散 as a component in other characters

meaning1 character
撒
sound3 characters
撒霰馓

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Example Sentences

风把树叶吹散了。
fēng bǎ shùyè chuīsàn le 。
The wind scattered the leaves.
他的头发散了，显得很乱。
tāde tóufà sàn le ， xiǎnde hěn luàn 。
His hair is scattered and looks messy.
我们应该把这些资料散开研究。
wǒmen yīnggāi bǎ zhèixiē zīliào sànkāi yánjiū 。
We should scatter these materials to study them.

Same Characters, Different Readings

散sàn
fall apart, scattered
散sǎn
scattered, loose, to come loose

Words with similar meanings

分散fēnsǎn
to disperse
This term emphasizes the act of distributing or spreading out over a wider area.

Words Starting With 散

散步sàn bù
to take a walk; to go for a walk
散发sàn fā
distribute; emit; issue

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