闪

閃
shǎn
#1,111 most
frequent character
dodge, get out of the way, sprain
verb
noun

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

闪 shows a person 人 inside a door 门, so it first meant 'to peek through a doorway.' From that it grew to 'suddenly appear,' 'flash of lightning,' and simply 'flash.'

Drawn as: person inside doorway

Ask DeepSeek

Example Sentences

我闪了一个球。
wǒ shǎnle yígè qiú 。
I dodged a ball.
天空中闪电很亮。
tiānkōng zhōng shǎndiàn hěnliàng 。
The lightning in the sky is very bright.
她的眼睛闪烁着光芒。
tāde yǎnjīng shǎnshuò zháo guāngmáng 。
Her eyes sparkle with light.

Same Characters, Different Readings

闪Shan3
surname Shan

Words with similar meanings

躲避duǒbì
dodge
More specific to avoiding something in motion or a threat.
闪烁shǎnshuò
sparkle
Focuses more on the visual aspect, like how light twinkles.

Words Starting With 闪

闪电shǎn diàn
lightning
闪烁shǎn shuò
flicker; twinkling

Your word lists

Sign in to add this word to your private lists.